Concert Halls and Opera Houses

Music, Acoustics, and Architecture
2. 2004 Auflage 2003
ISBN: 978-0-387-95524-7
Verlag: Springer Nature Singapore

Buch, Englisch, 661 Seiten, Format (B × H): 184 mm x 261 mm, Gewicht: 1445 g

The first question any lover of classical music usually asks an acoustician is, "Which are the best halls in the world?" The response -the three halls rated highest by world-praised conductors and music critics of the largest newspapers were built in 1870, 1888, and 1900- always prompts the next query: "Why are those so good while many halls built after 1950 seem to be mediocre or failures?" You will find answers to these questions in this book, the result of a half-century's research into the very complex field of acoustics of halls for music.
Following the first chapters, which establish a base for understanding the effects of acoustics on composers, performers, and listeners, and guiding the reader to a common vocabulary, the bullz of this book, Chapter 3, contains the write-ups, photographs, drawings, and architectural details on 100 existing halls in 31 countries. Thirty of the halls are completely new. Although the remainder appeared in earlier books by the author, the materials have been updated wherever necessary. The later chapters present the relation of a hall's acoustics to its age, shape, type of seats, and the materials used for the walls and ceiling. The sequence of events that led to Boston Symphony Hall's excellent acoustics, which opened in 1900, is covered in detail-although it went through a troubled first few years because the leading local music critic considered the predecessor hall as better. Detailed discussions also appear for balcony, box, stage, and pit designs. All the known electroacoustical measurements on 100 existing halls are examined and compared with the rank orders of 58 concert halls and 21 opera houses that were obtained from interviews and questionnaires. Finally, the optimal electro-acoustical results are presented for concert halls and opera houses used for today's repertoires. Three appendices supplement the chapters: the first gives definitions of all of the major acoustical and architectural termsand symbols used in the book; the second provides the electro-acoustical data available on the 100 halls; and the third presents in tabular form much of the dimensional and electro-acoustical data for the 100 halls.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Beranek, Leo

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Gebäudetypen Konzerthallen, Arenen, Stadien
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Mechanik Akustik, Schwingungsanalyse
• Technische Wissenschaften Sonstige Technologien | Angewandte Technik Akustik, Tontechnik
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Konstruktiver Ingenieurbau, Baustatik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

One Music and Acoustics.- What Are Good Acoustics?.- Acoustics and the Performers.- Acoustics and Musical Periods.- Acoustics and Listeners.- Two The Language of Musical Acoustics.- Definitions and Explanations of Selected Terms.- Three One Hundred Concert Halls and Opera Houses.- United States.- Argentina.- Australia.- Austria.- Belgium.- Brazil.- Canada.- China.- Denmark.- England.- Finland.- France.- Germany.- Greece.- Hungary.- Ireland.- Israel.- Italy.- Japan.- Malaysia.- Mexico.- Netherlands.- New Zealand.- Norway.- Scotland.- Spain.- Sweden.- Switzerland.- Taiwan.- Venezuela.- Wales.- Four Acoustics of Concert Halls.- Rank-Orderings of Acoustical Quality of 58 Concert Halls Developed from Interviews and Questionnaires.- Reverberation Time: Musicians Preferences.- Architectural Basics.- Physical Measures of Acoustical Quality.- Further Architectural Considerations.- Architectural Design of Chamber Music Halls.- Concluding Remarks.- Five Acoustics of Opera Houses.- Questionnaire Rank-Orderings of Acoustical Quality of 21 Opera Houses.- Objective Measurements of the Acoustical Properties of 23 Opera Houses.- Orchestra Pits.- Appendix 1 Terminology Definitions, and Conversion Factors.- Appendix 2 Acoustical Data for Concert Halls & Opera Houses.- Appendix 3 Equations, Technical Data, and Sound Absorption.- Name Index.