PBS showed a compressed opening gala of the Walt Disney Music Hall in
LA on Wednesday, Oct.  30.  (It covered three nights of music.) Designed
by Frank Gehry, this building has received accolades for both the outside
architecture and the interior acoustics.

Has anybody been there?

Did the music sound as good in person as it did on TV?

What's on Musical Director Esa-Pekka Salonen's suspenders, anyway?

The show started brilliantly, with a riveting version of Stravinsky's
"Rite of Spring".  Gary Halvorson, the TV director, outdid himself in
this presentation.  Close-ups of instruments hit musical marks flawlessly.
The miking was so good that we heard very little audience distractions.

The show went downhill from then on, however.  John Williams said
the building had sail-like shapes and he composed his "Soundings" that
incorporated taped bits that we were supposed to think came from people
hitting the building.  It was the first time I've seen a conductor using
a stopwatch instead of a baton. It was still an agreeable work.

The music incorporating movie songs was not riveting.  Let's face it,
most good songs start in the theatre.  But when the music turned to movie
scores by Bernard Hermann, it worked.  We heard the love scene from
"Vertigo", followed by a rhythmic piece from "On Dangerous Ground" (loved
the fellow who looked like he was saying, "I play steel plates, man.")

E-PS was charming when he looked up at the dress circle and said, "We've
been so busy I haven't had time to say thank you," to Frank Gehry.

Is this going to be a major place to hear music?

Susan