Architects hired the acoustical consulting division of
Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) to design the original interior acoustics for the hall. Their acousticians recommended a 2,400 seat "shoebox" design with narrowly spaced parallel sides (similar in shape to the acoustically acclaimed
Symphony Hall, Boston). Lincoln Center officials initially agreed with the recommendation, and BBN provided a series of design specifications and recommendations. However, the
New York Herald Tribune began a campaign to increase the seating capacity of the new hall and late in the design stage it was expanded to accommodate the critics' desires, invalidating much of BBN's acoustical work. BBN engineers told Lincoln Center management the hall would sound different from their initial intent, but they could not predict what the changes would do. The first of Lincoln Center's buildings to be completed, Philharmonic Hall opened September 23, 1962, to mixed reviews. The concert, featuring
Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic, and a host of operatic stars such as
Eileen Farrell and
Robert Merrill, was televised live on
CBS. The opening week of concerts included performances by a specially invited list of guest orchestras (Boston, Philadelphia, and Cleveland), who regularly appeared at
Carnegie Hall each season, as well as the new hall's resident ensemble. Several reporters panned the hall, while at least two conductors praised the acoustics. While the initial intention had been that Philharmonic Hall would replace Carnegie Hall, which could then be demolished, that did not happen. Management made several attempts to remedy the induced acoustical problems, with little success, leading to a substantial 1970s renovation designed by acoustician
Cyril Harris in conjunction with project architect
Philip Johnson. It included demolishing the hall's interior, selling its pipe organ to California's
Crystal Cathedral, and rebuilding a new auditorium within the outer framework and facade. While initial reaction to the improvements was favorable and some advocates remained steadfast, overall feelings about the new hall's sound soured and acoustics there continued to be problematic. One assessment by Robert C. Ehle stated: The seating capacity is large (around 2,600 seats) and the sidewalls are too far apart to provide early reflections to the center seats. The ceiling is high to increase reverberation time but the clouds are too high to reinforce early reflections adequately. The bass is weak because the very large stage does not adequately reinforce the low string instruments. In December 1977,
High Fidelity magazine published an article that stated members of the Philharmonic disliked the sound so much they referred to the venue as "A Very Fishy Hall." In 1992, under the tenure of
Kurt Masur with the New York Philharmonic, several solid maple wood convex surfaces were installed on the side walls and suspended from the ceiling of the stage to improve acoustics. The maple was specially selected to minimize its grain pattern. The new components are filled with fiberglass to deaden vibrations. The ongoing problems with the hall's acoustics eventually led the New York Philharmonic to consider a merger with Carnegie Hall in 2003, which would have returned the Philharmonic to Carnegie Hall for most of its concerts each season. However, both sides abandoned talks after four months. In 2005 and 2006, the
Mostly Mozart Festival experimented with extending the front of stage to improve acoustics. A major goal of the $550 million renovation of David Geffen Hall, from 2020 to 2022, was to improve the acoustics in the main concert hall. According to
Zachary Woolfe of
The New York Times, the renovation substantially improved the acoustics, but some significant acoustical problems remained. ==Notable events==