I was at last night's concert at Geffen Hall, sitting center orchestra, and agree somewhat with Mr. Tommasini but agree more with @ManhattanWilliam. The wonderful Ms O'Hara was singing a treasured, favorite piece of American music. What's not to like? Oh, but if only she'd delivered it in Alice Tully Hall!! Too often her sensitively expressed midrange was masked by van Zweden's rousing dynamics; her lower range was swallowed up altogether. Was it Ms O'Hara or the acoustic malfeasance of Geffen Hall? Hard to say, but after hearing Dawn Upshaw, whose own gorgeous voice doesn't match Steber for heft, in Tully Hall sing Barber, I can say with confidence there's no need to travel to Boston. Tully Hall is wonderful. And be more specific, Mr. Tommasini, van Zweden not only "pushed" sections of "Romeo and Juliet", he ripped through them...just as I noted that the Boshoi originally found the music "undanceable". Right, no sense of balletic music last night, no matter how gorgeous Prokofiev's music is. Glass's new overture was terrific.
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Whatever the merits of this conductor might be, I am not going back to Avery Fisher Hall (oops, David Geffen) UNTIL they fix the place. The seats are coming away from their frames and the time for a redo has long passed. I'll drive to Boston where I can listen to a great symphony in the type of concert venue that respects the music and the musicians. As to Lincoln Center, I'll stick with the Opera or go to Carnegie Hall where the facilities and acoustics are as they should be. Going to a concert at Geffen Hall is not worth the effort no matter what piece is being played on a given night, sorry.
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@ManhattanWilliam Make your complaints, but the music should come first. It's like riding the subway, you may not find it to your liking or comfort, but it gets you where you need to go. But to say the acoustics at the Met are fine? I question your judgment there. New York has long lacked venues with fine acousics, possibly because the wrong ones get used. I suspect the Beacon Theater has very good acoustics without using amplification. Radio City does. Some of these fine old theaters should be turned to art use. Let Fisher then serve as a showcase for showgirls. Why not bring them to Lincoln Center, too? For that matter, the State Theater could easily host burlesque. As long as you don't sit under the balcony, I've always enjoyed the acoustics of Town Hall. But when I lived in NYC, Carnegie Hall was a big disappointment, before and after its renovation.
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@ManhattanWilliam
Totally agree with manhattan William. I rarely go to Philharmonic Hall Lincoln Center.
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