Kozinn-Tommasini Smackdown: NY Times Critics Clash over Tully Hall Makeover

Anthony Tommasini, NY Times' chief classical music critic, at the press conference for the new Alice Tully Hall

At the time of the reopening of Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, when I was sharply critical of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's makeover, I felt like the lone dissident. As architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable said in her article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about Lincoln Center's campus-wide rebuilding program:

The renovation of Alice Tully Hall, now complete, is already considered a smashing success.

Ada Louise spoke admiringly of the hall's exterior, but never directly addressed the success, or lack thereof, of the interior of the reimagined concert hall.

Now along comes music critic Allan Kozinn, in a piece appearing in tomorrow's NY Times (but online today), making me feel, at last, a little less lonely. He dislikes the hall even more than I do. But his words echo mine.

Kozinn writes:

Pretty much everyone seems to love every aspect of the new Tully, designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro.

I hate the new Tully Hall. To me it is everything Lincoln Center and its enthusiasts insist it is not. I find it corporate, sterile, claustrophobic and as acoustically arid a hall as I've ever heard.

You've read similar gripes before---back in February, from me. In one post, I complained:

The sound was too often brittle, not resonant. It's easiest to gauge the quality of a performance and its sound on very familiar pieces. The two warhorses on yesterday's inaugural program were Beethoven's "Grosse Fuge," for which the sound seemed dry; and Stravinsky's "Pulcinella Suite," which lacked the requisite sparkle.

In another post, I described:

Lots of glass and hard corporate-looking surfaces; not much charm, let alone cushy comfort.

And in this post:

After the concert, I...ran into architect Liz Diller, who said the hall sounded great to her from her perch in the balcony. When she asked what I thought, I tactlessly observed that, from where I sat in the rear orchestra, the sound seemed a little dry.

"Dry??? I know you have problems with our work, Lee."

Kozinn had given a brief early warning of his contrarian take in his Mar. 3 concert review:

The hall itself was shockingly impassive....If you've been dreaming that the dryness of the old Tully Hall has been banished, and that the new hall, with its rich hues, will yield a lush, vibrant tone, it's time to wake up.

By contrast, most of the reviewers during the opening weeks, including the Times' chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, gave raves. It's nice to see that reasonable Times critics can strongly disagree (although at a four-month distance).

I will say this, though: The architects' and Lincoln Center's goal of attracting passersby has succeeded admirably. On pleasant days (of which there were remarkably few last month), both Tully Hall's outdoor bleachers and its indoor, glass-walled café are crowd magnets. It's an enhancement to the urban experience, if not as much as it should have been to the musical one.