JUST BACK FROM MUSIC HALL

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

AJW_6203-HDR-PanoJUST BACK FROM MUSIC HALL

On first hearing in its new home, the CSO sounded quite splendid, giving off a bright and immediate sound enhanced by a new seating arrangement and new seats, acoustic clouds overhead, the elimination of a center aisle, and a reduced capacity that will vary but never go above 2,500 attendees.

The hall itself looks brighter than ever before, the lobby feels less crowded and more welcoming, even with a capacity audience. There are now elevators in addition to the escalators that lead to the second and third levels, and we encountered fewer steps inside the building.

The audience is now much closer than ever to the stage. There are fewer partial view seats, and from the newly created terrace – an elevated section at the rear of the main floor, the sightlines are just perfect.

And mercifully there are more restrooms with more stalls and better plumbing. There is a nice bar   in the lobby and cup holders attached to the seats in the auditorium so that drinks can be brought inside. The new Music Hall is an audience friendly old lady who has just had a rejuvenating make over. It is still an imposing presence but not an intimidating one.

We loved it and can’t wait to go back.

My review  of the concert will post on http://www.seenandheard-international.com in the next few days.

Photography: AJ Waltz/Courtesy of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Rafael de Acha   www.RafaelMusicNotes.com

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”