Last update - 00:00 18/09/2006
It's the conductor, not the auditorium
By Yaakov Mishori
The planned renovation of Tel Aviv's Mann Auditorium has aroused a harsh debate between advocates and opponents of the project. The discussion must deal with the effects of the plan on the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which performs there.
One of the main reasons for the renovations is the declared need to improve the acoustics in the hall. When I served as an IPO musician and board member, I spoke at length with great artists who came to play with the orchestra. Among other subjects, we discussed the acoustics in the Mann Auditorium compared to other concert halls around the world. I cannot recall a conductor or guest artist ever complaining to me about the acoustics.
For example, the great maestro Leonard Bernstein said, "It's the conductor who makes the acoustics. When a conductor cannot control the instruments properly, no concert hall will help him." He added that although a concert hall must not have fabric walls, which absorb and dull the sound of the instruments, the most dominant factor in the quality and tone of the sound is the conductor; only afterward comes the hall. He had no complaints about the Mann Auditorium.
Another great conductor, Sergiu Celibidache, said similar things. He came to the Mann Auditorium in 1983 with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. He claimed "acoustic control" is in the hands of the conductor, and what is important is the location of the various instruments on the stage. Celibidache said he used to change where the players would sit in order to achieve the desired results. He did the same at the Mann Auditorium, he noted, when he seated some of the wind instrument players on special raised platforms. He said the Mann Auditorium was not inferior to many concert halls in which he conducted the world over.
In my opinion, one of the reasons the IPO administration decided to improve the existing situation was the many trips the orchestra made around the world, particularly to Japan, where the concert halls are pleasing to the eye and a delight to the ears. After a visit to Japan in 1996, the IPO board invited one of their greatest concert hall architects to offer his opinion on the acoustics at the Mann Auditorium. The architect visited the hall less than a year later, listened to the orchestra and said the acoustics were not at all bad. He added that the resonance in the hall could be intensified by getting rid of 200 seats and moving the stage forward - without changing the unique "fan" structure of the ceiling. The architect said carrying out such a "surgical procedure" would take no more than four to five months, depending on the pace of the work. For some reason, there were no further contacts with him after that.
The Tel Aviv Municipality claims the renovation work will take about three years. However, historical experience teaches that the work is liable to take much longer. For example, in the 1960s the mayor of Sydney boasted that the construction of the concert and opera hall there would take about five years and cost $25 million. In fact, the building was completed in 10 years and cost five times as much. The Sydney Municipality, with the support of the Australian government, could afford the sum, but it is doubtful whether Tel Aviv could withstand a similar effort.
The most disturbing thing of all is where the orchestra will play during the three years of renovation. Is the Cinerama building, which has been set as as an alternative hall while the work takes place, the right place? Many IPO subscribers told me they have no interest in migrating to that hall, which some say "is in a far from pleasant location." Thus the orchestra is liable to lose hundreds and perhaps thousands of subscribers. These subscribers are the mainstay of the orchestra, and they must be preserved at all costs.
In that case, what is the best thing to do? In my opinion, the renovations should be done gradually: First the acoustic changes should be made in the hall itself, using the Japanese suggestion or a combined suggestion - but not in accordance with the present bombastic plan for the hall to be demolished and rebuilt; and later the other parts of the building should be renovated, such as the foyer and the musicians' rooms. Carrying out the work in this manner is likely to take up to only five months.
During this period the orchestra, which is on vacation in August and September, will be able to limit its activities in July as well, and to travel abroad in October. In that way, there will be three and a half months during which the hall can be renovated. During the rest of the time, until the work is completed, the IPO can perform with the New Israel Opera in the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. It's true such cooperation requires complex planning, but it has been done successfully in other cities, such as Vienna and Amsterdam.
In that way, the Mann Auditorium can be free for renovations for about five months. Afterward renovations can continue in the foyer and other parts of the building. Although this will disturb concertgoers for a while, it will not chase them away from the hall. When similar work was done in concert halls in cities such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Melbourne, the audience was understanding.
The IPO and the Tel Aviv Municipality must once again examine the renovation plan for the hall, with all its implications. I have no doubt the two groups have good intentions, but as we know, the road to hell is paved with them. Therefore, when it comes to renovating the Mann Auditorium, we must be cautious.
The writer is the first horn player in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and has served as an IPO board member and spokesman.