Everything you’ve heard about the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is true.
The building is stunningly beautiful, inside and out.
And based on my experience Saturday at the symphony’s concert with pianist Emanuel Ax, the acoustics in the 2,000-seat Helzberg Hall are nothing short of extraordinary.
From our vantage point, in the Lower Grand Tier (essentially the lower balcony overlooking the orchestra seats) the sound was magnificent.
Being accustomed to the muddied blob of noise heard when the orchestra performed in its old home, the Lyric Theater (a former movie house), I hadn’t anticipated how bright the music would sound in the symphony’s new home.
I mean, we’d all been told this was a state-of-the-art facility, but even so. To my amazement, it was possible to pick out and isolate the sounds of individual instruments.
The pling of a triangle, the sensuous run of a harp, the deep, throaty call of a bassoon stood out in gorgeous relief against the overall sound of the orchestra.
Butler's Cinema Scene 