Thursday night I heard NC Symphony playing Vivaldi 4 Seasons. A small chamber orchestra with 4 different violinists. Memorial Hall (1931) at UNC is has large wooden cylindrical diffusors covering walls and ceiling of the stage. The sound quality was sublime from front row center. I heard Hillary Hahn with piano accompaniment there a few months ago from the back row, still great sound.
Friday morning I took my kids to the same performance again at Meymandi Hall in Raleigh , the home venue of the NC Symphony, where we have season tickets. It is a modern hall designed by acoustic architect, or so it seems. The sound was bloated with reverb and smeared bass. Close miking of soloists is essential for recording the radio rebroadcast, and occasionally reinforcement for the live audience is used, making the sound even worse.
We will be traveling to Chapel Hill for the concerts next year. It is worth the drive to be able to really hear the beauty of the music. Acoustics do matter!
Rich
