Avery Fisher Hall

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Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.

Avery Fisher Hall, located in New York City, is a part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic symphony orchestra. The hall contains 2,738 seats.

Contents

1 History
2 Acoustics
3 Usage
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

History

The hall was built in 1962 and originally named Philharmonic Hall. It was renamed after Avery Fisher, a member of the Philharmonic board of directors, following his US$10.5 million donation to the orchestra in 1973.

The hall's architecture was designed by Max Abramovitz.

Acoustics

Bolt, Beranek and Newman was hired to design the interior acoustics for the hall. Based on their experience designing and analyzing existing concert halls, BBN acousticians recommended that the hall be designed as a "shoebox" (similar to Symphony Hall, Boston), with seating for 2400 patrons. Lincoln Center initially agreed with the recommendation, and BBN provided a series of design specifications and recommendations. However, the New York Herald Tribune began a campaign to increase the seating capacity of the new hall. Late in the design stage, the hall was redesigned to accommodate the critics, but these changes invalidated much of BBN's acoustical design. BBN engineers told Lincoln center that the hall would sound different from how they had intended it to, but they could not predict what the changes would do.

The hall opened on September 23, 1962 to mixed reviews. Several reporters panned the hall, while at least two conductors praised the acoustics. Several attempts were made to remedy the acoustical problems in the hall, with little success, which eventually led to a substantial renovation project designed by noted acoustician Cyril Harris. These renovations helped improve the sound, but Avery Fisher Hall remains acoustically challenged to this day.

Usage

It is used today for many events, both musical and non-musical. For example, it is the traditional location for the graduation ceremony of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Stuyvesant High School, Edward R. Murrow High School, and Polytechnic University of New York. As of 2006, it will be used by the Bronx High School of Science. Weddings are held there, as well.

External links

[Hall information]

References