the resonance of the hall
Oto-kun
Dad, you told me the other day that Beethoven performed the horn sonata on a piano that was tuned a half step lower, and he played the piano part a half step higher.
father
Ah, the story that Beethoven had absolute pitch.
Oto-kun
Today, in music class, I listened to symphonies by Brahms and Mahler, from the Romantic era. The time of those composers was before records existed, right? Were performances held in concert halls?
father
Until the late 18th century, music was performed in the mansions of European nobility. The oldest existing hall for symphonies is located in the town of Eisenstadt, on the border of Austria and Hungary, where it is said that a lord used part of his castle as a venue for Joseph Haydn, the father of the symphony, as a patron of music.
Oto-kun
Music was performed for the nobility, right? When did they start building halls for the citizens?
father
The first concert hall created not only for kings and nobles but by the citizens themselves is the old Gewandhaus, built in 1781. Here, Menzelssohn served as the music director, and it is said that Berlioz and Tchaikovsky conducted and performed their own works.
Famous classical composers were also conductors and performers at that time. By the late 19th century, Bach, Handel, and Mozart had already become established classics, and Beethoven had been dead for several decades, becoming the centerpiece of concert programs. The four symphonies of Brahms that we listened to in today's music class were also written around this time. In fact, many of the concert halls said to have the best acoustics still in existence were built in the late 19th century.
Famous classical composers were also conductors and performers at that time. By the late 19th century, Bach, Handel, and Mozart had already become established classics, and Beethoven had been dead for several decades, becoming the centerpiece of concert programs. The four symphonies of Brahms that we listened to in today's music class were also written around this time. In fact, many of the concert halls said to have the best acoustics still in existence were built in the late 19th century.
Oto-kun
Is it related to the emergence of many Romantic composers?
father
I can't say for sure, but I think it is related. The representative hall of the late 19th century is the Musikverein in Vienna, and Brahms was the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic from 1872 to 1875. Mahler also stood on the podium of the Musikverein as the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1898. This means that the orchestral sounds that Brahms and Mahler had in their minds while composing were the sounds of the Musikverein, known for its long reverberation.
Oto-kun
By the way, the music teacher also said that composers imagine their works being performed in a hall when they compose.
father
That's right. It is said that Haydn wrote his symphony scores with the acoustics of the Haydn Hall in mind, and historically, many of Bach's religious works were written for the St. Thomas Church. The St. Thomas Church used tapestries extensively to reduce the reverberation time to about 1.6 seconds, and Bach composed with the relatively short reverberation time of the church in consideration.
Oto-kun
Does 'reverberation time' refer to the time until the sound completely disappears?
father
The time it takes to stop a sound and reduce it by 60 dB from the state of the sound being present is defined as reverberation time. In 1900, W.C. Sabine, a scholar, introduced the concept of reverberation time in the design of the Boston Symphony Hall, which was completed that year. At that time, it was said that the measurement should be taken until the sound disappears, and it seems that a pipe organ's organ pipes were used as the sound source.
Oto-kun
Measuring sound in a hall seems interesting. Nowadays, they use computers to do the measurements, right?
father
That's right. I will tell you more about sound measurement and design in the hall next time.