A Half-Full Bowl

In response to Mark Swed’s review of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Tuesday concert at the Hollywood Bowl (“When the Bowl Is Half Empty,” July 13), I would like to address some of the issues he raised and provide some factual information for your readers.

The Hollywood Bowl is, unquestionably, one of Los Angeles’ architectural and musical icons. From the first concert given by the Philharmonic at the Bowl in 1922 to last Tuesday night, literally millions of Angelenos have come out to enjoy “Symphonies Under the Stars.” Over the past 10 years, paid attendance at the Tuesday and Thursday classical concerts has been remarkably stable, averaging 5,500 a night. Due to the enormous seating capacity of the Bowl (17,416), 5,000 or 6,000 people may not seem like very many; over the course of the summer season, however, that means more than 110,000 have attended a classical music concert. In fact, the total audience for Tuesday’s concert numbered 7,102, which means that nearly half the seats were filled (not empty).

The sale of the printed program magazine, the price of which increased this season for the first time in 10 years, produces revenue for the Bowl’s maintenance fund. As a rule, we do not print song text in the magazine because it is so difficult to read in the dark. In fact, the Mozart arias (two) and duet (one) performed Tuesday were synopsized in the program notes, and Frederica von Stade introduced her second Offenbach number from the stage.

In his remarks about an article in the magazine, Swed expressed the view that a “date” at the Bowl was somehow a bad idea. Fortunately, many Southern Californians who love classical music do consider the Hollywood Bowl as a “Great Date. Period.”

JOAN CUMMING

Director of marketing and

communications

Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.