On 23 Jul 2007 18:42:45 GMT, John Phillips
wrote:

On 2007-07-22, tony sayer wrote:
...
And the RAH isn't the -best- acoustic around...

When did the flying saucers go up? I started regularly visiting the RAH
in the late 1970s or early 1980s. I did know the hall's reputation but
I never found it that bad. I have a feeing the acoustic treatment may
have been there aleady when I first went.

I find it bad for smaller 'period' ensembles. One of the problems
appears to be that the performers cannot hear each other properly, so
tuning and timing suffer.

I had been used to the intimacy of the Turner Sims concert hall in
Southampton so the RAH was clearly not the same. However BBC does a
very good job of getting the best out of the RAH, IME.

This is my preferred venue. I have given up on the RAH - the extra
time, effort and expense involved in getting there from Southampton
and then being disappointed by the sound is just not worth it. The
broadcast sound from the RAH is generally better in my experience.

Maybe it is just my personal bias, but the performers generally seem
more and ease and better rehearsed at the Turner Sims than at the
proms.

--
Chris Isbell
Southampton, UK