Page 45 - PDF Flip TR Program Demo

Only later, at the beginning of the 20th century, did concert halls expand to reach beyond the ability of solo instruments to fill them, in order to accommodate the larger Romantic orchestras of Berlioz, Mahler,
and Bruckner. These halls were perfect for specta- cles and outsized groups, but too large to project the closer harmonies of Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, or the personal acoustics of the small drawing rooms in which Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, Haydn, and Bach mostly performed.
The Olivier Hall is built entirely of larch, with a concrete floor, which produces a very supportive sound for piano, strings, woodwinds, chamber music, and small ensembles. Its size provides
a lushness, closeness, responsiveness, quick bounce, and woody timbre. Its acoustic resem- bles the gorgeous rasp and warmth of an ancient viola. The stiffness of the underlying cement and the empathy of the post and beam construction is filtered through the reverberant grain of the larch, a fairly immortal wood resistant to aging, damp, and insects. Larch buildings 1,000 years old can still be found in Siberia. It is similar in sound to rosewood. Western larch is projective and crisp in sound and is sometimes used for the tops
of guitars.
2018 Summer Season 45