Leo Beranek Concert Halls and Opera Houses

Annotation

he first question any lover of classical music usually asb an acoustician is, "Which are the best halls in the world?" The response-the three halls rated highest by world-praised conductors and music critics of the largest newspapers were built in 1870, 1888, and 1900-always prompts the next query: "Why are those so good while many halls built after 1950 seem to be mediocre or failures?" You will find answers to these questions in this book the result of a half-century's research into the very complex field of acoustics of halls for music. The dialog re-enacted above bears a close resemblance to another illustration that typically troubles music lovers. They frequently asl