??? My First Classical Concert,What Can I Expect ???

Concerts and their venues

l am not a classical music concert goer.

l do love to hear a full 100 piece orchestra with the music l enjoy and collect.

Original film music by the most respected 20th Century composers. Ennio Morricone, John Barry, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Ron Goodwin (to a lesser degree as he was not so prolific in his writings)

The Royal Albert Hall is where l have heard all of these……it’s not the venue for great sound. The acoustics are and have been forever bab, bad, bad! The shape and design of the building is like a great big oval bathroom with sound reflections and reverb/echo from all sides.Unless you are sat in the stalls roughly dead centre is the only place to be for the best it gets. You may get a great performance but never the greatest sound. Things have been tried over the years to tame these acoustic failures with those upside down mushroom treatments in the god’s. l can honestly say the only instrument that sounds okay for me in the RAH is the organ……at least it sounds like it is being played in a church.

If you want good acoustics, go to a newer concert hall built with thought and designed for optimum sound delivery. The Barbican London is my favourite and a few of the provincial local theatres dotted around the county.

My most respected film composer who appeared in London (and Scotland) every year before his death, chose The Barbican. He was able to reproduce his film scores on stage without loosing any of the dynamics from the original recordings. He was not afraid to talk to the audience between the pieces injecting humour and personal insights which facilitated a more intimate feel to the evenings. Goldsmith at pre concert talks opened up personal opportunities for direct questions and answers. He was a showman who enjoyed conducting his own music and others when opportunities allowed. IMHO perhaps the only silver age film composer to consistently give his audiences what they craved for year in, year out.

His concerts were always near sell outs even though he reappeared every year, and into his late 70’s which demonstrated his public support. He even carried on composing and conducted while receiving cancer treatments…..Sadly missed R.I.P

@richardbrand 

The Royal Albert Hall dreadful echo….

Mendelssohn would have found the perfect venue to perform “Fingal’s Cave Overture”

The last time l was in the “Hall” there were dozens of giant upside down acoustic mushrooms growing out of the dome ceiling. Plus multiple sails all over up there draped horizontally to dampen the echo effect. I cringe if there is a recording l want and find it was performed there. I think the architecture helps the concert experience when witnessed live, but adds nothing when listening back home. Give me The Festival Hall, or The Barbican anytime, but not the Recoil Albert Hall.

@immatthewj “Stay out of the mosh-pit” …. We all now know what kind of concerts you go to.

@thecarpathian ”Where was the article quoted above” ??

No article….. just my own hearing experiences at The Royal Albert Hall. My own visits to the venue over the last 50 years. I am not a Londoner so have to travel as l live in the “Wild West” in the UK…..… yee haa!

So this reply is mainly directed to “thecarpathian”

Those visits comprise a dozen or so symphonic concerts, a few rock/pop and several Cinematic film showings with a full live orchestra. I have sat high up on all sides of the arena, plus first tier, stalls, “Loggia” boxes and “the choir” areas to the sides behind the orchestra. The “choir” was interesting as you get to see the conductor and observe all the musicians. The most interesting part seated there for me was watching the percussionists do their thing. They are normally buried behind everybody else. I heard plenty of echo except for the extreme rear areas (like you commented) as you at least avoid the back echo. The downside is, you don’t get a good view…just matchstick men. The Loggia boxes to the sides are the most comfortable with little reverb and echo but the orchestra sounds mellow and directionless…..like living in your own world wearing headphones and detached from the whole collective, shared experience with a large audience.

So that’s my view and take on the RAH sound. A bit of trial and error to find a good spot to book your seats. I found the Stalls nearer the front for the best overall enjoyment with a more two (not multi) channel stereo.

I attended the 2003 Ennio Morricone concert but he settled on other venues like the Rainbow and O2 later. I don’t know if that was a conscious decision but l know of no recordings from that event that have ever materialised on CD or DVD. A few records were released on Polydor of the yearly Filmharmonic concerts with The London Philharmonic Orchestra, and they all sound awful, directionless and diffuse.

Jerry Goldsmith found no difficulty recreating the original soundtrack “echoplex delay” trumpet effect (from the film Patton) at the RAH…. There was plenty of echo inherent already. Those who know the music appreciate the trumpet echo effect of past battles in Pattons mind. His triumphant feeling of destiny, his belief that he was a reborn soldier from distant history. It was interesting for me to experience what the composer did to play the same piece of music at The Barbican. He sent two trumpeters up to the back of the hall to play the echo to achieve the same effect.

I think that says it all

about the Albert Hall

Maybe..…I am a poet

and, l didn’t know it?

One things for sure

Heard it all before…

Like you said, Sir Thomas Beecham said, you will hear your performance more than once.

l hope all this was useful to those out there who are interested in concert hall acoustics.

Ah yes @thecarpathian l stand corrected.

It was meant a reply for @richardbrand 

@richardbrand 

“as soon as the venue fills with people, it’s acoustics change”

You are spot on there. In my cinema presentation days as a projectionist we had a cue sheet for each film. Notes on the individual film with details of play out music etc. Included was the fader level for a typical average sized audience arrived at during several sound checks. If the auditorium was nearly empty you would reduce the fader number assigned. If it was nearer a full house, the fader number would be increased, not because the audience makes more ambient noise, but because people and clothing absorbs sound. During each showing the projectionist on duty would also by habit and for good showmanship make a light, focus and sound check in the auditorium during the first reel.

With regard to auditorium design, my regional theatre in Plymouth has a ceiling that can be lowered to the base height of the third tier to change the acoustic reflections for certain programmes avoiding the Royal Albert Hall effect. It facilitates a more controlled and intimate sound field.

@rwwear 

l agree…. Unruly crowds 

The same applies to watching some of the hysterical whistling, yelling and stomping on TV shows like “Britains Got Talent” My neighbour says watching it in his flat he has to avoid annoying the neighbours. He has to constantly keep on grabbing the TV remote volume control every time the audience goes berserk.

l can only compare watching that show to modern day Beatlemania, and it is actively encouraged by the producers.