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December 12-18, 2002 music Progress ReportYear one in the Orchestra's new home. Dec. 11, 2001: First acoustic test. On the plus side, an open quality very different from the Academy of Music. But very uneven frequency balance, with muddy bass, muted, astringent high strings and disjointed solo piano part. (Seated in orchestra right.) Jan. 11, 2002: Murray Perahia playing Beethoven concerti. Huge, huge improvement. Wonderfully playful performances that bounced around the hall nicely, still on the dry side, but buoyant and immediate. (Seated in orchestra right.) Feb. 9: Christoph Eschenbach conducts. Very lively, precise sound. In the Dvorák "New World" Symphony, you could hear the skin of the timpani, the plucked melody line of the string bass -- as never in the Academy! (Seated third tier, left side front.) May 10: Penderecki Piano Concerto, Emanuel Ax, piano, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting. Laid back and somewhat muddy. Brahms Third Symphony also dark and recessed, but with rich layers of sonority. (Seated in orchestra right.) June 13: Jennifer Higdon premiere, Strauss "Ein Heldenleben," Sawallisch conducting. Big, colorful sound for the showy Higdon Concerto for Orchestra, but best sound yet for the Strauss. Sawallisch and the band have a special bond with this composer. Does this comfort level enhance the sound? Better tone and projection? Likely, yes. (Seated in orchestra left.) Oct. 11 and 15: Showdown! Verizon versus NYC's Carnegie Hall! Music of Schumann! Verizon is superior for bass definition, but otherwise, Carnegie's reputation as an acoustical marvel is intact. Carnegie scores with gorgeous bloom in the middle range, especially the winds, and a sense of rhythmic ease that draws the listener deep into the music. Will Verizon ever accomplish this? Oct. 19: Sawallisch conducts, Eschenbach on piano. Good lively sound in the Beethoven Concerto, rich, relaxed sound for Strauss, as usual with this composer. Generally colorful and detailed sound, if slightly distant and treble shy. Ironically, these acoustics evoked nostalgia for the family circle at the Academy. (Seated in first tier, all the way back.) Dec. 3: Due to a computer glitch, fire sprinklers deluge the Orchestra during rehearsal of Rite of Spring. Two Steinway pianos are among the injured, and the stage floor shows signs of warping. Eschenbach dubs it The Rite of the Sprinkler in local papers. (Wasn't there, of course.) 
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