22/01/2023
The Rudolfinum is a Neo-Renaissance building dating back to 1885, a time when Brahms or Smetana were played in Prague. The Dvořák Hall was created for this music. But when it features music for a large symphony orchestra, such as began to be composed in the early 20th century, it doesn't always sound so beautiful. The conductor often has to muffle the orchestra to fit the piece into the hall. 🎶 In ten years, Prague should have a new philharmonic building adequate for all the repertoire.
"In a bigger hall, more musicians can fit on stage, and the music is more transparent. It is better heard and does not leak away. You could hear it well in Paris and in Hamburg, where we played Shostakovich's 11th Symphony. It's like playing music on a better hi-fi rig with better speakers. There is a wider range of sounds to hear, the pianos and softer parts of the pieces are enjoyable, but the orchestra can add to the massiveness.
The difference from a traditional hall is similar to hearing a concert on the radio, which has its own capacity, and the louder passages have to be "cut" by the sound engineers. With the new hall, even the strongest dynamics can be heard as a well-defined structure rather than a jumble of notes. And subconsciously, even a layman feels this well," David Mareček explained in an interview with Finmag.
