Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-01
||lVESAREMUFF[ED.
N ACADEMY STAGE
etokowski Plans Call for Max
,ne Structure Into Huge
Megaphone
,wlLL CHANGE THE SEATING

rhs curve is the foundation stone oi
n. nlon for rcmodcllng the stage OF the
lc.dcn,y of Music. which has been au-
a,r;,ed by the Board of Directors at
Mo instance of Leopold Stokowski, con-
snctor Of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
u has been DR.. Stokowski's conten.
Nan for some time that the present
s..se setting in which the orchestra
.ss s while productive of acoustical
syGscts far above the average. Is yet
Sctins in certain properties essential
a the best performances.
THE subtlcr tonal shadings. the nicely
A.ianced orchestral combinations. are
rnfacd he says. by the asbestos cur
ain the wings and the seating plan,
x that much of the hard won delicacy
~ nlayinr never reaches the public ear.
Il With This in mind. DR.. Stokowski has
,.ditatcd upon the problem during the
jast season. and. out of these reflections
srj numerous conferences with techni-
esl men and theatrical designers, has
evolved the plan which will be put In
szecution before the beginning OF the
fhll concerts.
To Change Seating
First and foremost, the seating ar
s,nsemcnts for the musicians Is to
undergo thorough reorganization. In
Mace OF the six tiers or banks, which
now surround the conductors stand like
kalf hexagon. there will be eight tiers,
sveeping around in semi circle from
n ana side of the stage to the other.
The primary object Of this curve is to
snable more of the musicians to face
toward the audience. thus projecting the
scund waves directly outward from the
otase instead of leaving them to reflect
from one side of the proscenium to the
ether before finding their way out.
i In this way only comparatively few
musicians-some Of the first violins on
ths extreme left and number Of the
eellos on the right-will not be facing
the front.
Il also solves the problem Of crowd
INK, which would have been augmented
by the addition of five additional men In
The fall, because the unbroken lines
permit free and yet closer position of
The chair.
One striking innovation in the ar
rangcment of the choirs will be in the
base viols, all ten of which formerly
we're placed in shallow curve at the
rear Of the stage.
Under the new plan eight of these
will be in straight line across the
rear of the platform and the remaining
] two, will have places on the left of the
next tier below facing the stage), the
odd two being balanced on the right by |
The tympani and trOmbones,
New Side Walls
q Next in Importance to the change in |
The seating will be the new side walls
and roof within which the orchestra will |
Be inclosed. These walls will extend
back to the rear wall of the building.
converging slightly toward the center Of
the stage. while the roof also will slOpe
downward to the rear, the whole giving
. funnel.like effect.
The planes on which the walls and
roof are 10 be arranged are so calculated
as to reflect the sound waves at the
most advantageous angle. There will
be no break in their smooth surface
anywhere except four doors, through
which the musicians enter, two at the
rear and two at the front on each side.
To complete the plan it has been de-
eded to raise the asbestos front drop or
hre curtain so that its lower edge will
not hang down over the stage and cut
OF a certain portion of the volume of
sound.
The sum total Of the whole arrange
ment is that the stage will be converted
Into a gigantic megaphone. which will
catch every sound and cast it forward
In the direction of the audience.