Letters to the Editor
Gosh!
VIEWS ON MUSIC (Continued from Page 4) recorded and are due to be re-released by CBS. The death of Sir Thomas Beecham, October 3, 1967, at age 72, was a great loss to the orchestra and to...
...According to one prominent musician — a conductor who has performed in the Auditorium — the dead spots are not only the worry of the prospective ticket buyer, but the performers as well...
...One could forgive a blocked view or the distant faces of the actors if one could hear all the lines, but to a person with a season book of tickets for this series, facing a year of muddled speech, indistinguishable dialogue and evanescent punch lines, this acoustical problem assumes disaster proportions...
...That these dead spots do exist in our Auditorium, and that there is a real acoustical inferiority in these areas is well established...
...who is washed and who is not...
...LA TORTILLA At Kirkwood and Grant MEXICAN CUISINE • Tostados • Tacos • Enchillados • Tamales • Burritos • Chili • Roast Beef Sandwich Also Mexican Crafts For Sale 12...
...In the period following Beecham's death, a difficult transition occured before Sir Malcam Sargent was appointed conductor...
...The next time I come in contact with your publication while passing a refuse recepticle I'll do exactly what your front page advocates and "drop it...
...The sound reproduction equipment is outdated (1953 vintage) and inadequate (two microphones, Altec Lansing amplifiers, and three speakers judiciously placed behind the upper curtain...
...This moans that a person having a seat in one of these areas will be at a disadvantage for full appreciation of a performance...
...We may define a dead spot as any area in the auditorium where the acoustics and quality of sound is noticeably and decidedly inferior...
...Another musician — a well know member of the School of Music faculty — indicated that this phenomenon has been observed and known for a considerable time...
...The Auditorium Theater Series presents six broadway musicals or plays...
...Imagine sitting through a perfectly good play with witty lines and skillful actors, only to find that over half the dialogue was inaudible due to your seating location...
...Frank Octave Brunell LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear "Sirs": Its heartwarming to see the publication of a campus magazine with such sterling character as yours...
...The death of Sir Thomas Beecham, October 3, 1967, at age 72, was a great loss to the orchestra and to the music world...
...So what...
...Love, Bruce Wackowski (sic) Bruce — Thanks for the Polack joke...
...The ludicrous thing is that good seats cost no more and are only out of reach due to ignorance of the situation...
...What this campus needs is a publication without regard to race, creed, color, and national origin which concerns itself with more pressing matters e.g...
...Also, seats in the front orchestra and front balcony sections are fine...
...Ironically, these same characteristics cause areas of excellent sound reproduction — the areas within fifteen seats from either side wall and twelve rows down from the rear wall under the balcony offer excellent acoustics...
...I'd hate not to be protected from the rampant brainwashing that seems to be everywhere these days...
...inferior sound reproduction...
...Good luck in your endeavor to save us all from Guy Loftman and self [ish] government...
...However, BEWARE, there is danger in the Auditorium...
...This hindrance may be minor, as in the case of a ballet or similar visual performance, or it may be accute, as in the case of a play or a soloist...
...With all its fine architecture, flowing lines, impressive expanse, and large seating capacity, for the unaware the I.U...
...This hall, unfortunately, has what are known as dead spots which engulf an alarming proportion of the seats...
...dead spots...
...These dead spots, generally speaking, include any seat which does not fall in the areas described above...
...Members of such renowned groups as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra have stated that these spots can seriously hamper an orchestra's performance at Indiana...
...Measurements of sound intensity were made at different positions in the Auditorium — with the results indicating a considerable variability in sound intensity...
...Apparently, the rounded shape of the walls in conjunction with the extensively high ceiling create this effect...
...From the preceding remarks, the reader might very well be interested and anxious to see one or several of the fine attractions offered at the I.U...
...One may logically ask, "Poor acoustics...
...Once again the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is providing stirring performances and recordings, and it will be worthwhile to see this renowned organization...
...For a university with resources enough to completely revise the Auditorium's lighting system at a cost of over $150,000, for a university with interest and support enough to attract one of the world's finest music faculties, and for a university with such a distinguished history of outstanding artistic attractions, it is at once silly and tragic that nothing has been done to improve the acoustics of the Indiana University Auditorium...
...Auditorium...
...Auditorium has a subtle insufficiency...
Vol. 1 • October 1967 • No. 2
