Page 11 - CinemaRecord Edition 3-2003 #41

The architects found their
inspiration in the Vienna
Musikvereinsaal, a much-studied 1870
building renowned for its acoustics.
The challenge was to reproduce the
same acoustic qualities in a 21st
century building, minus the adornments
of cherubs, seraphim and torsos so
popular at that time.
In an interview for The Age,
Andrew Nicol of Arup Acoustics
explained that surface agitation is the
key to fine acoustics. “Sound either
reflects off a flat surface like light off a
mirror, or gets absorbed because it's
soft and fluffy, or gets scattered. The
scattering envelops our ears, and we
find this pleasing.”
Scattering sound in the EMH
involved designing 2,995 panels each
weighing 55kg, set as part of a
mammoth jigsaw of patterned wood
View to balcony, which seats 300. The textured walls ‘scatter’ sound.
grain.
Image: Frank Van Stratten
The interior is also cocooned from
low-frequency external noise. The
auditorium is enclosed in a 250mm
thick concrete box, mounted on 38
large spring bearing units. Because it is
so quiet inside the musicians can play
delicately and be more relaxed about it.
The official opening on 8 February
2009 coincided with the one-hundreth
birthday of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch,
philanthropist and patron of many
causes in Victoria.
Now that it is open, does the reality A performer's view. EMH Website
match the expectation? Yes, the sound
from ensemble playing, for which the
building was designed, is sublime.

Next Issue: The John Sumner Theatre

References
Melbourne Recital Centre Ltd:
Technical specifications Elisabeth
Murdoch Hall as at 4 July 2008
The Age 31 January 2009

View to the concert platform. Image: Frank van Stratten

CINEMARECORD 2009 11