In Saturday’s (7/14) The Age (Melbourne, Australia), Raymond Gill writes, “Hamer Hall sits on a seam of solid rock next to the Yarra just beyond Princes Bridge. For some, this concert hall has been the very centre of the city’s cultural heart and one of the reasons we like to call Melbourne ‘the cultural capital’ of Australia.. … After being closed for two years of renovations, Hamer Hall will relaunch itself on July 26 with a sparkling new acoustic system as part of its $138.5 million renovation. Wilma Smith, the concert master of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, says Hamer Hall now has a ‘bloom and beauty of sound’ that was missing previously. … The new Hamer Hall sound is the result of a complete acoustic overhaul that has included a narrowing of the venue slightly (seating has been reduced by about 120 places, to 2464); new orange seats; new aisles that curve with the shape of the hall rather than separate the space, which means artists will feel closer to the audience; a new sound system; new acoustical reflectors that fold up like a butterfly when not in use; a new fly system; and the removal of the hall’s organ, which will be replaced later but covered in a mesh screen when not in use.”
Posted July 19, 2012
