Avery Fisher Hall - Acoustics

Acoustics

The acoustical consulting firm of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) was hired to design the interior acoustics for the hall. Based on their experience designing and analyzing existing concert halls, BBN acousticians recommended that the hall be designed as a "shoebox" with narrowly spaced parallel sides (similar in shape to the acoustically acclaimed Symphony Hall, Boston), with seating for no more than 2,400 patrons. Lincoln Center initially agreed with the recommendation, and BBN provided a series of design specifications and recommendations. However, the New York Herald Tribune began a campaign to increase the seating capacity of the new hall. Late in the design stage, the hall was redesigned to accommodate the critics' desires, but these changes invalidated much of BBN's acoustical design. BBN engineers told Lincoln Center that the hall would sound different from how they had intended it to, but they could not predict what the changes would do.

Philharmonic Hall opened on September 23, 1962, to mixed reviews. The concert, featuring Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic, and a host of operatic stars such as Eileen Farrell and Robert Merrill, was televised live on CBS. The opening week of concerts included performances by a specially invited list of guest orchestras (Boston, Philadelphia, and Cleveland), who were regularly appearing at Carnegie Hall each season, as well as the new hall's home ensemble. Several reporters panned the hall, while at least two conductors praised the acoustics. (While the initial intention had been that Philharmonic Hall would replace Carnegie Hall, which could then be torn down, that scenario of events did not take place.)

Several attempts were made to remedy the acoustical problems of the new Philharmonic Hall, with little success, leading to plans in the 1970s for a substantial renovation project designed by noted acoustician Cyril Harris with project architect Philip Johnson. These renovations included demolishing the inside of the hall and rebuilding a new hall within the outer framework and facade. While initial reaction to the improvements was favorable, overall feelings about the new hall's sound soured, and the acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall continued to be problematic. One assessment of the acoustics of the hall from R.C. Ehle stated:

"The seating capacity is large (around 2,600 seats) and the sidewalls are too far apart to provide early reflections to the center seats. The ceiling is high to increase reverberation time but the clouds are too high to reinforce early reflections adequately. The bass is weak because the very large stage does not adequately reinforce the low string instruments."

During the tenure of Kurt Masur with the New York Philharmonic, several …

… solid maple concave surfaces were installed on the side walls (upper and lower tiers) and suspended from the ceiling of the stage to help focus sound from different parts of the stage evenly towards both the audience and towards the performers themselves. This acoustical stage upgrade was completed by the architectural firm of John Burgee Architects, formerly known as Philip Johnson John Burgee Architects. The maple was specially selected to minimize its grain pattern. The interiors of all new components are filled with up to 3 inches of fiber-glass to deaden vibrations. The side components are known as 'pillows' they are shaped to evenly reflect sound to varying parts of both the stage and audience and consist of some 30,000 small dowels individually 'diced', glued and mechanically fastened. The stepped quality of these pillows was to provide the maximum number of refracting surfaces possible. Above these 'pillows' are retractable frosted glass shelves providing additional acoustical control and adjustment. There are two suspended acoustical platforms above the stage itself, the main component is stepped and features an oval shaped frosted glass reflector panes to evenly distribute sound towards the audience while the smaller platform at the rear of the stage provides additional adjustable reflected sound for the performers.

The ongoing problems with the hall's acoustics eventually led the New York Philharmonic to consider a merger with Carnegie Hall in 2003, which would have moved the Philharmonic back to Carnegie for most of its concerts each season. However, this planned merger did not occur.

Beginning in 2005 (and continuing in 2006), the Mostly Mozart Festival has experimented with extending the stage for the Mostly Mozart orchestra farther out into the seats from the main stage for the Festival's summer season.