Sound Improvements for Bowl’s Acoustics

When Hollywood Bowl opens its 67th season Tuesday, patrons will be treated to a new, and stereophonic, sound. At least, that is the promise articulated by a new team of acoustical experts--picked by Ernest Fleischmann, the Bowl’s artistic director, now beginning his 20th, and last, summer in Cahuenga Pass--and headed by acoustician Elizabeth Cohen.

This summer and next, the two principal consultants, Cohen and David Schwind, both members of the acoustical firm of Charles M. Salter Associates in San Francisco, will attack the Bowl’s sound problems with a “team of experts” (according to Salter Associates), including acoustician Tomlinson Holman, who teaches at USC.

“There were very severe problems when we got here,” says Holman, revealing what may be news to listeners who thought that the accumulated changes and improvements to Bowl sound in the past two decades had reached an acceptable plateau as of last summer.

Cohen and Holman say they will correct “the lack of uniformity” in sound dispersal at the Bowl, especially in the seating areas at the sides of the amphitheater, among other problems.

Basically, what the acousticians say they are doing is “putting in a three-channel sound system where formerly you had a monaural system.” Holman explains: “That means the former system was sending out only one-channel sound to different parts of the house, whereas the new system is sending something more rounded, an almost-surround sound.”

That is not very complicated, they claim, but must be done while the amphitheater is in use, over these next two summers, said Cohen, who holds a Ph.D. in acoustics from Stanford University.

First, according to Cohen--who in this backstage context is always addressed as “Doctor”--they have installed new equipment: “A center cluster (of speakers), a woofer stack, a sub-woofer, equalizers, five BLM mikes. . . .”

Also, Bowl veteran Frank Supak, whose title is Master Audio-Visual, “has a new console,” from which he supervises overall Bowl sound, as he has since 1970, under the watchful ear of Fleischmann.

Three separate sets of speakers send sound outward from above the stage area into different parts of the amphitheater, the acousticians say. “It’s a matter of balance, image and envelopment,” Cohen explains, adding that the most problematic areas are at the sides of the house, where echoes can occur.

“We want good spectral balance, and uniform coverage,” the 34-year-old professor says. “What is important in sound is definition, clarity and warmth--also timbres coming through the speakers analogous to what the instrumental players are trying to produce.”

Cohen warned that “The budget (for this latest renovation to Bowl sound) is very limited--only around $250,000 this year. But we’ve made a start.”

Also new this summer:

--Completion of the replacement of the cedar benches, and of the wooden enclosures in the box sections.

--Refurbishing of three performer dressing rooms.

--The addition of Wolfgang Puck’s Spago pizza to the picnic menu.

--A new exhibit at the Hollywood Bowl Museum, called “A Bowl for All Nations,” displaying 60 musical instruments from around the world. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; to 8:30 p.m. on concert nights.

--Three corporate sponsors, American Airlines, Data General Corp. and classical music station KFAC-FM (92.3).

Ticket availability to subscription concerts remains a sore point for non-subscribers. For the desirable box seats, there is a waiting list for would-be subscribers. And only a few returns become available to single events.

Still, according to Philharmonic spokeswoman Norma Flynn, “It’s true that our box seats are mostly unavailable for last-minute purchase, especially on weekends. But good bench seats are available for all of our Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday concerts. And, for those who will not wait till the last minute, it is usually possible to get tickets to weekend events.”

For all Bowl information--parking, dining, busing, other than for tickets--call (213) 850-2000. Tickets: (213) 480-3232.