Philharmonic Moving Onward and Upward

At the opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic season next fall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will sport a new look. Instead of the familiar orchestra-enclosing proscenium stage, ticket-holders will find one that’s been bumped into the audience, extended 14 feet and elevated a foot.

The goal is to improve acoustics in the multipurpose Pavilion, creating a more intimate musical experience and a warmer, richer tone. The stage extension, intended for use only during orchestra concerts, will also bring the venue a step closer to the design of the acoustically friendly Disney Hall, where the Philharmonic will take up residence in the fall of 2002.

“I’m spoiled,” acknowledged managing director Willem Wijnbergen, who came to the orchestra from Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, whose hall is acknowledged to be among the best in the world. “I know what a good hall sounds like and I don’t want to wait three years.”

The problem stems from the fact that, when it’s set up for orchestra performances, the Pavilion reproduces sound rather than enhancing it. As far back as the early 1980s, music director Carlo Maria Giulini complained that the proscenium-enclosed stage isolated the Philharmonic from the audience and interfered with the transmission of sound.

“Mr. Giulini told me that the audience is in one room and the orchestra is in another, so a lot of the sound is lost,” said former Philharmonic managing director Ernest Fleischmann. “It’s so much clearer and richer on the road, even at mediocre venues like Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.”

No one expects the reconfigured Pavilion to become an acoustical peer of Disney Hall, with its multi-level arena seating that surrounds the orchestra. But experts say that changing a few variables can make a world of difference.

“Positioning the orchestra on a proscenium stage creates a sense of remoteness,” said Earl Briggs, an architect at Frank Gehry’s firm, which designed Disney Hall and served as consultant on this project. “Visually, it’s seen from only a frontal perspective and the sound comes primarily from one direction. By bringing the orchestra closer to the audience, there are more surfaces off of which the sound can reflect.”

The acoustical improvements, however, come with a trade-off. Moving the stage into the audience obstructs sightlines from some parts of the auditorium, particularly the balcony. Three scenarios were tested in an attempt to minimize obstructions: Extending the stage 24 feet and raising it 2 feet; extending it 24 feet but raising it just 1 foot; and extending it 14 feet and elevating it a foot.

In the end, the Philharmonic opted for the third alternative, which extends into the auditorium about as far as the orchestra pit during most opera performances and balances audio and visual demands. “Though some of the seats will be adversely affected, most will be better off,” Briggs said.

This isn’t the first time the orchestra has tried to tackle the sound and sightline problem. Bowing to Giulini’s wishes, Fleischmann extended the stage for a few weeks in 1982. But when audience members seated above the Founder’s Circle rebelled, the project was abandoned.

The next round began in 1995 when conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen returned from a European tour and led the orchestra in “Pelleas and Melisande” at the L.A. Opera. He marveled at the difference in tone when the orchestra was in the pit rather than set back on the stage. Once again, the stage was extended. Once again, the audience dug in. In reaction to the furor, management retreated.

“The [1995] extension came out 10 feet more than the current version and wasn’t elevated at all,” Philharmonic General Manager Gail Samuel recalled. “To help people see from the balcony, we handed out Hollywood Bowl cushions which were not only very uncomfortable but prevented [some] people’s legs from reaching the floor.”

Last fall, Salonen pushed, one more time, for improvements. A new plan was mapped out--this time with audience involvement. Letters announcing the change were sent to subscribers in April, followed up by phone calls to those most affected. To further defuse potential opposition, the Philharmonic brought subscribers into the testing process and also invited 9,000 of them to an open house in May. Staff members were on hand to answer questions from the 1,600 who showed up to sample cookies, listen to chamber music and check out their seats in relation to a mocked-up stage extension.

According to the Philharmonic, about 15% of the auditorium’s 3,197 seats will be affected to some degree, in contrast to 33% during the 1995-96 season. Among that 15% are the first three rows of the orchestra, which will be removed to accommodate the extension, reducing the hall’s capacity to 3,082. Other affected areas are parts of the balcony and the sides and front of the remaining orchestra seats.

For unhappy subscribers or those whose seats have been eliminated, the Philharmonic is offering alternatives at similar prices. They have also added a ring of lower-priced orchestra seats to accommodate emigres from the balcony. The most severely obstructed seats will be sold as reduced-price single tickets.

Reactions from subscribers have been all over the map. At the open house, West Covina subscriber Sally Bacon was happy that the Philharmonic agreed to modify a brass bar that interfered with her view in the loge. Beverly Weil of Encino came to scout for a group of eight and decided they could live with the changes.

But some patrons remained unconvinced. “The nobles, the people in the Founder’s Circle, are the ones who will benefit,” said Rick Thielo, an 11-year subscriber who lives in Upland. “Those of us in the balcony get burned.”

Canoga Park’s Richard Eskilson took issue with the emphasis on audio: “Concerts are a total experience,” he said. “When Yo-Yo Ma is performing, I don’t want to see him cut off at the knees.”

Listening to the orchestra at the Oct. 9 opening gala may change their minds, Philharmonic board President Barry Sanders maintains. “There will be a radical 20% to 30% improvement in sound quality,” he said. “That’s the difference between a CD and a live performance.”

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Sight and Sound

Starting next fall the os Angeles Philharmonic will play on a stage that has been extended 14 feet into the auditorium and elevated 1 foot. The new setup is designed to improve sound, but it will eliminate three rows of seats in the orchestra and, according to the Philharmonic, change sightlines in the front and sides of the orchestra and parts of the balcony.

Total number of seats in new configuration: 3,082

Total number of affected seats: 480

Rows BB, CC and A will be removed from Orchestra to accommodate stage extension

Seats with changed sightlines

Stage will now extend 14 feet into auditorium

Stage level will be raised 1 foot