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Kimmel
Music Center
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ASSESSING
THE KIMMEL: With opening weekend behind them, the folks behind
Philadelphia's imposing new Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
are reading the initial reviews, and beginning the years-long
process of accommodating a new hall to its tenants. But reviews
were wildly mixed, and the local perception seemed often at odds
with that of out-of-town critics. The overall report card seems to
indicate a promising future for Verizon Hall, but much acoustical
tweaking will be needed. Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/18/01
- INCOMPLETE
GRADE FOR KIMMEL'S 'OTHER' HALL: "In a valiant but
ultimately futile effort, the Kimmel Center for the Performing
Arts' Perelman Theater opened Sunday in such an unfinished
state as to misrepresent what it will ultimately look and
sound like." Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/18/01
HOW'S
IT SOUND? Philadelphia's new Kimmel Performing Arts
Center opened this weekend. So how were the acoustics?
It's too soon to tell it's too soon to tell it's too
soon to tell.... "For now the musicians say they
are happy. And happy musicians play better. When music
is played well, it makes a concert hall's sound seem
better. Such is the nature of psycho- acoustics." The
New York Times 12/17/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
- THE
MAKING OF... "Great concert halls are not born that
way. They are designed, built and opened, and then coaxed,
polished and aged before settling into a state of greatness.
But Verizon Hall is off to a promising start." Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/17/01
- SOME
PROBLEMS... The hall "would seem to have some
serious acoustical problems, for all of its plush, burnished
mahogany and elegant, cello-shaped frame. On the evidence of
the two opening concerts the sound is dim, diffuse and
unsupported, somehow managing to be both muddy and
bone-dry." Washington Post
12/17/01
- THE
SOUND? From my seat, in what should be a prime
location, I had trouble hearing the orchestra." Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 12/17/01
- IT
WILL EVOLVE: "In the end, though, the acoustics
left something to be desired. More definition and presence
would be nice, and it will be interesting to hear how the
sound evolves." Baltimore
Sun 12/17/01
- UNDERSIZED:
"But the sound was distant and small and lacked
presence. The audience should be swimming in the lushness of
Ravel's Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloe, but we
were parched." Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette 12/17/01
- FROM
THE ORCHESTRA: "In terms of acoustics, 'it's a
Stradivarius,' raved the orchestra's principal cellist,
William Stokking." Baltimore
Sun 12/17/01
KIMMEL
CENTER OPENS: A night after Elton John opened
Philadelphia's new concert hall (in return for a fee
said to be $2 million), the Kimmel Center's real tenants
moved in. "Rough edges in the still-to-be-finished
performing arts center were well-hidden; the
Philadelphia Orchestra's next music director, Christoph
Eschenbach, was helicoptered into Philadelphia after his
5:19 p.m. curtain at New York's Metropolitan Opera; and
guest cellist Yo-Yo Ma courted disaster when his chair
slipped off a raised platform while performing (he was
caught by orchestra violinist Nancy Bean)." Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/16/01
-
FIRST
REVIEWS - NOT A RAVE: "On Saturday the
Philadelphia Orchestra played its first concert in
its long-awaited home, the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall
in the new $265 million, two-hall Kimmel Center for
the Performing Arts. Alas, the first report can't be
called wildly enthusiastic. Finished in almost
unrelieved red mahogany, Verizon is a bit oppressive
visually. And, at least in its initial incarnation,
it's seriously short of sonic warmth." Dallas
Morning News 12/16/01
- LOOKS
GOOD: "Philadelphia's new center distinguishes
itself in a big way from the conventional models U.S. cities
have been using for a century or more to carve out places
for culture in the midst of chaotic urban circumstances. The
Kimmel Center is a savvy mix of megastructure, modern
architecture, shopping mall and civic plaza." Washington
Post 12/16/01
PHILLY'S
NEW CONCERT HALL: "Achieving good acoustics in a concert
hall is an extremely complex balancing act. The sound of music
inside an enclosed space is affected by an enormous number of
variables — everything from the shape of the room to the
thickness of the walls to the number of seats determines the
acoustic environment. Acousticians attempt to collect and measure
the quality of sound in a specific space. It all gets very
technical, but there are several key elements involved." Andante
12/13/01
- CONCERT
HALL OR CIVIC REVITALIZATION? Philadelphia's new Kimmel
Center was built with the help of nearly $100 million of
public money, leading some to ask whether the expense of
creating such cultural monuments is balanced by the benefits
it returns to the community. "Officials say the Kimmel
will create 3,000 jobs and generate $153 million in annual
spending on tickets, parking, restaurants, hotels and the
like. The building itself isn't expected to be profitable for
several years." San Jose
Mercury News 12/13/01
- A
NEW KIND OF CONCERT HALL: "Philadelphia now breaks
ranks with cities that have regressed toward infinite
infantilism in the quest to revitalize their downtowns. Rafael
Viñoly's architecture is not nostalgic for ye olde city life.
It's not ironic about it, and it's not cute. Apart from
spatial amplitude, it makes few concessions to luxury or
glamour. The exterior, particularly, may strike some
concertgoers as harsh. It is only inside the building that the
Kimmel Center reveals the elegance of its concept. Mr. Viñoly
has designed an urban ensemble, composed primarily of city
views. Classical music is the architecture here, the building
an instrument in which to perform and hear it."
The New York Times 12/13/01
(one-time registration
required for access)
SOMETHING
NEW IN CONCERT HALLS? Philadelphia's new Kimmel Center concert
hall is not your traditional shoe-box design. "The
Philadelphia Orchestra's new cello-shaped home, part of the Kimmel
Center for the Performing Arts, is a uniquely curvaceous,
wood-lined concert room that may change the way future generations
think about concert halls, the role of the arts in this city, and
Philadelphia in general." Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/09/01
LISTENING
TO THE PHILLY'S NEW CONCERT HALL: The Philadelphia Orchestra
has being trying to build a new home since about 1908. Next week
it moves into the new $263 million Kimmel Center. This week the
orchestra got its first chance to try out the acoustics:
"The first impression is an overwhelming one, a wonderful
one," says music director Wolfgang Sawallisch. "The
musicians can hear each other. I can hear each section -
individually and in ensemble. Of course, this will take time.
You cannot do it in 15 minutes." Philadelphia
Inquirer 12/07/01
-
HOW
PHILLY GOT ITS NEW HALL: Decades in the dreaming, it
took some adjustment in attitude to get it done: "We
originally tried to go without support from the public
sector. We arrogantly made the statement that we could do it
all on our own. The original project was led by a small
group of corporate leaders who were not successful at
building consensus." The
New York Times 12/09/01 (one-time registration
required for access)
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