Lebrecht Music & Arts has had a first hand opportunity this week to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall
in action during the Gustavo Dudamel Mahler cycle.

The exterior is more like an abstract sculpture than the normal shoe box design of classic concert halls. The interior is designed in the round with the stage surrounded on all sides by the audience.

The exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall on South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, USA

The interior shapes curve and are reminiscent of the concave sides of a boat. All the surfaces are covered in a light coloured wood with a flash of deep blue at the farthest point of the ceiling, reminding the audience that they are sitting in the Sunshine State. The consequences of this organic design are an acoustic that is very clear and gives an orchestra a very different sound from other venues.

The grand interior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall with a view of the organ

The master architect behind this transcendent experience is Frank Gehry . And he attended the Mahler cycle concerts this week.