The Acoustics of Performance Halls: Spaces for Music from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl
“[A] handsome book….copiously illustrated….an entertaining overview with much useful information.” (Musical America)“[A]ll you ever wanted to know about sound but were afraid to ask….this lavishly illustrated book should interest not only technicians buy anyone who ever turned to his neighbor and said ‘Can you hear the violins? I can’t.’” (The Norwalk Hour)“Possessing a wonderful acoustical equilibrium, Bass Performance Hall is one of those in which music heard by the audience is the same as that heard by the performer. The clarity of sound heard throughout the entire range, in addition to the warm and welcoming environment, makes Bass Hall one of the finest halls.” (Yo Yo Ma, cellist, October 10, 2000)“I am heartened in knowing that there are a few—a very few—like [Jaffe] who know enough about acoustics to care about the sound from a musician’s point of view, and to look for that intangible magic and warmth that really makes for a great hall and an additional instrument for us to work with in performance.” (Isaac Stern, violinist, December 15, 1984)“Thank you for the extraordinary work you did on transforming the sound of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. It is truly a room in which all Americans can enjoy music under ideal conditions. Your professionalism, hard work, and good sense have blessed us with one of the finest halls in America.” (Lawerence Wilker, president emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Center)“[A] thoroughly enjoyable, informative, and entertaining treatment of spaces for performance, a review of some of their major afflictions, and a compact guide to a wide array of successes.” (The BAS Speaker (Official Publication of the Boston Audio Society))“The best new hall that I know of is the one built for the University of New Mexico by Christopher Jaffe, which Munich might do well to emulate.” (Lorin Maazel, Music Director Emeritus, Cleveland Orchestra-New York Philharmonic Orchestra)