On June 12, 1899, ground was broken and construction began on Symphony Hall after the Orchestra's original home (the Old Boston Music Hall) was threatened by road-building and subway construction. The building was completed 17 months later at a cost of $771,000.[4] The hall was inaugurated on October 15, 1900, Architects McKim, Mead and White engaged Wallace Clement Sabine, a young assistant professor of physics at Harvard University, as their acoustical consultant, and Symphony Hall became one of the first auditoria designed in accordance with scientifically derived acoustical principles. Admired for its lively acoustics from the time of its opening, the hall is often cited as one of the best sounding classical concert venues in the world.[5]
The hall is modeled on the second Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig, which was later destroyed in World War II. The Hall is relatively long, narrow, and high, in a rectangular "shoebox" shape like Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and Vienna's Musikverein. It is 18.6 metres (61 ft) high, 22.9 metres (75 ft) wide, and 38.1 metres (125 ft) long from the lower back wall to the front of the stage. Stage walls slope inward to help focus the sound. With the exception of its wooden floors, the Hall is built of brick, steel, and plaster, with modest decoration. Side balconies are very shallow to avoid trapping or muffling sound, and the coffered ceiling and statue-filled niches along three sides help provide excellent acoustics to essentially every seat. Conductor Herbert von Karajan, in comparing it to the Musikverein, stated that "for much music, it is even better... because of its slightly lower reverberation time."[6]
In 2006, due to years of wear and tear, the original concert stage floor was replaced at a cost of $250,000. In order to avoid any change to the sound of the hall, the new floor was built using same methods and materials as the original. These included tongue-in-groove, three-quarter inch, hard maple boards, a compressed wool underlayment and hardened steel cut nails, hammered in by hand. The vertical grain fir subfloor from 1899 was in excellent shape and was left in place. The nails used in the new floor were hand cut using the same size and construction as the originals[7] and the back channeling on the original maple top boards was replicated as well.[8]
Beethoven's name is inscribed over the stage, the only musician's name that appears in the hall since the original directors could agree on no other name but his. The hall's leather seats are the originals installed in 1900. The hall seats 2,625 people during Symphony season and 2,371 during the Pops season, including 800 seats at tables on the main floor.
StatuesEdit
Sixteen casts of notable Greek and Roman statues line the upper level of the hall's walls. Ten are of mythical subjects, and six of historical figures. All were produced by P. P. Caproni and Brother. The casts, as one faces the stage are:
On the right, starting near the stage:Faun carrying the boy Bacchus (Roman copy of an original from the Hellenistic Period. Naples); Apollo Citharoedus (Roman artist. Excavated from Cassius' Villa near Tivoli in 1774. Vatican); Young Woman of (Excavated from Herculaneum in 1711. Dresden); Dancing Faun (Rome); Demosthenes (Rome); Seated Anacreon (Copenhagen); Statue of a tragic poet with the head of Euripides (Vatican); Diana of Versailles (Paris);
The Symphony Hall organ, a 4,800-pipe Aeolian-Skinner (Opus 1134) was designed by G. Donald Harrison, installed in 1949, and autographed by Albert Schweitzer. It replaced the hall's first organ, built in 1900 by George S. Hutchings of Boston, which was electrically keyed, with 62 ranks of nearly 4,000 pipes set in a chamber 12 feet (3.7 m) deep and 40 feet (12 m) high. The Hutchings organ had fallen out of fashion by the 1940s when lighter, clearer tones became preferred. E. Power Biggs, often a featured organist for the orchestra, lobbied hard for a thinner bass sound and accentuated treble.
The 1949 Aeolian-Skinner reused and modified more than 60% of the existing Hutchings pipes and added 600 new pipes in a Positive division. The original diapason pipes, 32 feet (9.8 m) in length, were reportedly sawed into manageable pieces for disposal in 1948.
In 2003, the organ was thoroughly overhauled by Foley-Baker Inc., reusing its chassis and many pipes, but enclosing the Bombarde and adding to it the long-desired Principal (diapason) pipes, adding a new Solo division, and reworking its chamber for better sound projection. The original 1949 four-manual console was replaced with a low-profile three-manual console, to allow a better line of sight between the organist and the conductor when the organ and orchestra play together.
^ ab"Symphony Hall". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
^Gerrit Petersen; Steven Ledbetter & Kimberly Alexander Shilland (June 26, 1998). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Symphony Hall" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-06-26. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 18 photos and other illustrations, exterior and interior, historic and modern(5.38 MB)
^Beranek, Leo Leroy (1962). Music, acoustics & architecture. Wiley. p. 93. ISBN978-0-4710-6867-9. OCLC 175926. Beranek paraphrases but does not quote von Karajan in the second edition of this work (2004).
^Dyer, Richard (August 6, 2006). "After 105 years, BSO to enter a new stage". The Boston Globe.]
^"Boston Symphony Hall – Concert Hall Acoustics Project". Acentech.
General bibliographyEdit
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall: The First 100 Years, January 2000. ISBN0-9671148-2-9.
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Program Notes, October 1, 2005
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Program Notes, April 8, 2006
Leo Beranek, Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture (2003), ISBN978-0-387-95524-7.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Symphony Hall (Boston).
Symphony Hall
October 15, 2023
symphony, hall, boston, symphony, hall, concert, hall, located, massachusetts, avenue, boston, massachusetts, opened, 1900, designed, architectural, firm, mckim, mead, white, built, boston, symphony, orchestra, which, continues, make, hall, home, accommodate, . Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston Massachusetts opened in 1900 Designed by the architectural firm McKim Mead and White it was built for the Boston Symphony Orchestra which continues to make the hall its home It can accommodate an audience of 2 625 The hall was designated a U S National Historic Landmark in 1999 and is a pending Boston Landmark It was then noted that Symphony Hall remains acoustically among the top three concert halls in the world sharing this distinction with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Vienna s Musikvereinsaal and is considered the finest in the United States 1 2 Symphony Hall located one block from Berklee College of Music to the north and one block from the New England Conservatory to the south also serves as home to the Boston Pops Orchestra as well as the site of many concerts of the Handel and Haydn Society Symphony HallFront view of Symphony Hall in 2023Address301 Massachusetts AvenueLocationBoston Massachusetts U S Coordinates42 20 34 2 N 71 5 8 5 W 42 342833 N 71 085694 W 42 342833 71 085694Public transitSymphonyOwnerBoston Symphony OrchestraTypeconcert hallCapacity2 625ConstructionBroke groundJune 12 1899Built1900OpenedOctober 15 1900 1900 10 15 ArchitectMcKim Mead and WhiteWebsitewww wbr bso wbr org wbr symphony hall Contents 1 History and architecture 2 Statues 3 Organ 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 General bibliography 6 External linksHistory and architecture Edit nbsp Symphony Hall interior empty nbsp Symphony Hall interior in concert Symphony HallU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S National Historic LandmarkBuilt1900ArchitectMcKim Mead and WhiteArchitectural styleRenaissanceNRHP reference No 99000633 3 Significant datesAdded to NRHPJanuary 20 1999Designated NHLJanuary 20 1999 1 On June 12 1899 ground was broken and construction began on Symphony Hall after the Orchestra s original home the Old Boston Music Hall was threatened by road building and subway construction The building was completed 17 months later at a cost of 771 000 4 The hall was inaugurated on October 15 1900 Architects McKim Mead and White engaged Wallace Clement Sabine a young assistant professor of physics at Harvard University as their acoustical consultant and Symphony Hall became one of the first auditoria designed in accordance with scientifically derived acoustical principles Admired for its lively acoustics from the time of its opening the hall is often cited as one of the best sounding classical concert venues in the world 5 The hall is modeled on the second Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig which was later destroyed in World War II The Hall is relatively long narrow and high in a rectangular shoebox shape like Amsterdam s Concertgebouw and Vienna s Musikverein It is 18 6 metres 61 ft high 22 9 metres 75 ft wide and 38 1 metres 125 ft long from the lower back wall to the front of the stage Stage walls slope inward to help focus the sound With the exception of its wooden floors the Hall is built of brick steel and plaster with modest decoration Side balconies are very shallow to avoid trapping or muffling sound and the coffered ceiling and statue filled niches along three sides help provide excellent acoustics to essentially every seat Conductor Herbert von Karajan in comparing it to the Musikverein stated that for much music it is even better because of its slightly lower reverberation time 6 In 2006 due to years of wear and tear the original concert stage floor was replaced at a cost of 250 000 In order to avoid any change to the sound of the hall the new floor was built using same methods and materials as the original These included tongue in groove three quarter inch hard maple boards a compressed wool underlayment and hardened steel cut nails hammered in by hand The vertical grain fir subfloor from 1899 was in excellent shape and was left in place The nails used in the new floor were hand cut using the same size and construction as the originals 7 and the back channeling on the original maple top boards was replicated as well 8 Beethoven s name is inscribed over the stage the only musician s name that appears in the hall since the original directors could agree on no other name but his The hall s leather seats are the originals installed in 1900 The hall seats 2 625 people during Symphony season and 2 371 during the Pops season including 800 seats at tables on the main floor Statues EditSixteen casts of notable Greek and Roman statues line the upper level of the hall s walls Ten are of mythical subjects and six of historical figures All were produced by P P Caproni and Brother The casts as one faces the stage are On the right starting near the stage Faun carrying the boy Bacchus Roman copy of an original from the Hellenistic Period Naples Apollo Citharoedus Roman artist Excavated from Cassius Villa near Tivoli in 1774 Vatican Young Woman of Excavated from Herculaneum in 1711 Dresden Dancing Faun Rome Demosthenes Rome Seated Anacreon Copenhagen Statue of a tragic poet with the head of Euripides Vatican Diana of Versailles Paris On the left starting near the stage Resting Satyr Praxiteles Rome Wounded Amazon Polycleitus Berlin Hermes Logios Paris Lemnian Athena Dresden with head in Bologna The Lateran Sophocles Vatican Standing Anacreon Copenhagen Aeschines Naples Apollo Belvedere Rome Organ EditThe Symphony Hall organ a 4 800 pipe Aeolian Skinner Opus 1134 was designed by G Donald Harrison installed in 1949 and autographed by Albert Schweitzer It replaced the hall s first organ built in 1900 by George S Hutchings of Boston which was electrically keyed with 62 ranks of nearly 4 000 pipes set in a chamber 12 feet 3 7 m deep and 40 feet 12 m high The Hutchings organ had fallen out of fashion by the 1940s when lighter clearer tones became preferred E Power Biggs often a featured organist for the orchestra lobbied hard for a thinner bass sound and accentuated treble The 1949 Aeolian Skinner reused and modified more than 60 of the existing Hutchings pipes and added 600 new pipes in a Positive division The original diapason pipes 32 feet 9 8 m in length were reportedly sawed into manageable pieces for disposal in 1948 In 2003 the organ was thoroughly overhauled by Foley Baker Inc reusing its chassis and many pipes but enclosing the Bombarde and adding to it the long desired Principal diapason pipes adding a new Solo division and reworking its chamber for better sound projection The original 1949 four manual console was replaced with a low profile three manual console to allow a better line of sight between the organist and the conductor when the organ and orchestra play together See also EditList of concert halls List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Boston MassachusettsReferences EditCitations Edit a b Symphony Hall National Historic Landmark summary listing National Park Service Retrieved 2009 03 25 Gerrit Petersen Steven Ledbetter amp Kimberly Alexander Shilland June 26 1998 National Historic Landmark Nomination Symphony Hall PDF National Park Service Retrieved 2009 06 26 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help and Accompanying 18 photos and other illustrations exterior and interior historic and modern 5 38 MB National Register Information System 99000633 National Register of Historic Places National Park Service January 23 2007 Ground Broken for Symphony Hall Mass Moments 2019 06 12 Retrieved 2019 06 12 Apple R W Jr April 7 2007 Apple s America New York Farrar Straus and Giroux ISBN 978 0 3747 0664 7 Beranek Leo Leroy 1962 Music acoustics amp architecture Wiley p 93 ISBN 978 0 4710 6867 9 OCLC 175926 Beranek paraphrases but does not quote von Karajan in the second edition of this work 2004 Dyer Richard August 6 2006 After 105 years BSO to enter a new stage The Boston Globe Boston Symphony Hall Concert Hall Acoustics Project Acentech General bibliography Edit Boston Symphony Orchestra Symphony Hall The First 100 Years January 2000 ISBN 0 9671148 2 9 Boston Symphony Orchestra Program Notes October 1 2005 Boston Symphony Orchestra Program Notes April 8 2006 Leo Beranek Concert Halls and Opera Houses Music Acoustics and Architecture 2003 ISBN 978 0 387 95524 7 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Symphony Hall Boston Symphony Hall Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Symphony Hall Boston amp oldid 1172762550, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
