Concert and Opera Halls

Sets out common concepts and terms by which acoustical engineers, musicians, and listeners can discuss and compare the characteristics of concert halls and opera houses, then uses them to rank 66 concert halls and 10 opera houses in a number of qualities. Draws on interviews with a group of conductors, music critics, and sound engineers, and on a written questionnaire mailed to an entirely different group of musicians and critics. Among the qualities are reverberance, brilliance, and warmth; spaciousness; echo, noise, distortion, and non-uniformity. The age, shape, size, seating density, and materials of the halls are also described. Well illustrated in black and white. Published for the Acoustic Society of America. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.