Oregonian classical music critic David Stabler has posted a follow-up on his review of last Saturday’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. You can find it here.
What I find most interesting is the discussion that has apparently begun about the efficacy of the stage extension that we use for large works for choir and orchestra. Carl Herko, the OSO’s PR director, wrote:
“After your review yesterday detailing your disappointment with Beethoven 9, and after we heard from some regular concertgoers who said they were unhappy with the sound quality this weekend (a feeling echoed by more than a few people on our staff), several of us got to thinking this morning: Is it possible that when we use a stage extension at the Schnitz, the sound quality is so altered that listener’s perceptions are really affected negatively?
I know that I should know why we started using the extensions, which I believe has been more prevalent during Carlos’ tenure than during Jimmy’s, but I’m not exactly sure why the setup was instituted. I am recalling very dimly that perhaps it was to help the choir project better (even though in the hall they still need, and are given, electronic reinforcement) than was possible with them in the choir loft.
It’s not an unusual situation – the Seattle Symphony constructed a stage extension for their performances last week of Mahler’s massive Eighth symphony due to the large number of performers on stage. They, however, have an acoustically excellent hall, so I’m not sure how much of an impact it had on either the sound apparent to the audience or in how the musicians heard themselves on stage.
Either way, it’s a discussion worth having between the artistic and managerial personnel at the symphony, to determine if a stage extension is warranted for every performance with chorus and orchestra, especially with our reduced string complement. In the end, however, it might be moot, since there are myriad problems with the acoustics that will not be fixed by rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It may be that this problem will not be resolved in the short term.