When the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, took the podium of the new Walt Disney Concert Hall one morning in late June, anticipation hung in the air. Fewer than a dozen people were scattered about the 2,265-seat auditorium, including the architect, Frank Gehry.
OUTSIDE, THE GORGEOUS billowing curves and swoops of the nearly finished stainless-steel exterioralready an L.A. landmarkshimmered. Yet this stunning building will truly succeed only if the quality of its sound matches its physical beauty. That June day marked the first time the full orchestra had played in the new hall. Salonen led the musicians into the opening bars of Mozarts Jupiter Symphony, but he soon tapped his baton, stopped and scanned the hall for Gehry. Frank, he said, well keep it. Gehry started crying. [MSNBC]