Boston Symphony Orchestra questions concerning seating, dress
 

Before I purchase a ticket for the BSO I'm curious to know if anyone has a seating preference. I love the ability to choose a seat but there are a lot of options--as far as sound and sight are concerned is there a particular section more advantageous than others? Also, suggestions for appropriate attire for a Saturday night performance are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi AnnMarie_C,

The Boston Symphony Hall has one of the BEST acoustics in the world, on par with Musikverein in Vienna & Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Therefore, you can't go wrong really, and no need to splurge for the most expensive seats.

Having said that, I still would stay away from sitting beneath the overhang (ie, back of Orchestra stalls or back of First Balcony). I also would avoid the side seats on the first & second balcony that are too close to the stage.

P.S., Are you under 40? If yes, you can take advantage of this if it fits your scehdule:
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/content1...sp?id=34100007

As far as attire is concerned, it's rather "anything goes". I usually go to the Friday matinee concerts, and most are fairly casual (shirt/slacks or blouse/slacks). For Friday night, you probably will get some jackets/slacks +/- ties for men; nice tops/slacks for women. Rarely will you see full-length ball gown and tux.

Hope this helps.

Not sure if you're an opera fan, but I recall you're thinking of visiting in November. Carmen is on during that time: http://www.blo.org/2009-2010_carmen.html and you can get tickets for half price ($18) via Bostix: http://www.bostix.org/default.asp

I'm pretty sure I'll go see Carmen, but I haven't gotten tickets yet.

Am I under 40??? lol. Earlier today I read that offer on the BSO website and thought how nice for those who are. Alas, I am too old for under 40, too young for AARP, *sigh* ;-)

Thank you so much for your feedback, yk, it is most helpful, exactly what I was looking for.

AnnMarie_C, I guess you are under 40 based on the GTG photos my brother took. :)

I meant to type "Saturday Night" instead of "Friday night" in my first response.

I just remembered that the Berlin Philharmonic w/Simon Rattle will be in town on November 15. http://www.celebrityseries.org/CS_pe...berlinphil.htm

Not sure if that coincides with your trip or not, but I've got tickets for that concert already. :) If you decide to go to the Berlin Philharmonic, it's best you call the box office for tickets, because the online ticketing website does NOT allow you to choose actual seats. It'll assign you seats based on the price category. It is a terrible system.

Awwwww, that's very nice of you, yk, but you shouldn't drink and look at photos. ;-)

I was very tempted by the Berlin Philharmonic (that is when I will be in town) but think I will regret not seeing the BSO live. Very excited for you! Let me know if you'd like to get together before or after the performance, or, at another time during the weekend. Hoping to see my cousin as well but nothing concrete at this point.

Can't you see both the BSO concert on Sat night AND the Berlin Philharmonic concert Sunday afternoon? Or is that too much for a short trip? The BSO concert is not conducted by James Levine, if that matters to you.

I don't have plans for that weekend at this point. I should be in town.

You can email me when the date gets closer. yk fodors
at hotmail. (No space between yk and fodors.)

Hi yk, I could do both but as I have never been to Boston there are other things on my agenda involving art and history, sightseeing, etc.. So, yes, may be too much for a short trip.

Thanks for the address--once we get closer I'll be in touch. Look forward to meeting you! Oh, and you can relax, my kidney requirements have been met. :-)

a good friend of mine works at the BSO, how lucky am I?! we always sit at the little tables on the main floor. I love them. it is four seats per table. the acoustics are awesome so really it's more about hearing than seeing. but the views are great too. it's amazing to see all the violins in synchrony and the page turning. I love sitting at the little tables, but then again I have never sat in the balcony...
you will see people dressed from very casual to dressy and elegant, so really you can not got wrong either way. also you can order drinks and food from the little tables and be waited on, the prices are reasonable too. ENJOY!!!

LizaMarie, I think you're referring to the <u>Boston Pops</u> concert at the Symphony hall, not the regular BSO season concerts. I know for the Pops concert, they take out the seats on the orchestral stalls and replace them with tables. However, for the regular BSO season concerts, it's just row after row of seats.

yk, thanks for clearing that up. I was about to question that whole table thing, because I thought I had seen that arrangement on televised performances of the Pops, but I couldn't believe that they would do it that way for the regular BSO concerts.

In case this thread comes up in the future on a search, I just want to confirm what I had written before: <u>DO NOT</u> sit below the overhang if you can avoid it!

I was at a BSO concert today at the Symphony Hall, and my seat was Row MM in the orchestra section. It is about 3 rows in underneath the overhang. I thought it would be okay, but noooooooooooo! The acoustics was terrible there.

After the intermission, I moved 3 rows forward to Row JJ. What a huge difference that made! It was as if I were in 2 different worlds...

Glad you were able to move. Just checked, my seat is in section 1BC, row B--I should be okay.

There's a pre-concert talk at 6:45P - have you been to one? Curious to learn what that's about.

Hi AnnMarie, yes, I've been to those pre-concert talks. They are very good (and free) - usually done by professors whose interests are related to the pieces being played that night.

Yesterday, the pre-concert talk was done by a Russian history professor from NorthEastern Univ. Of course, he knows not only Russian history but also familiar with the music too. He also wrote the programe notes for 2 out of the 3 pieces.

Anyway, the talk is 30 minutes. The speaker talks about all the pieces - history, structure, what to listen out for etc. The speaker also plays short excerpts of the pieces too. Definitely go if you have time.

BTW, I *might* not be around that weekend you're here. :( I'm being tempted to go on a trip; which means I may even skip the Berlin Philharmonic concert...

Oh, that sounds interesting, yk--glad I asked because now I'll make a point to go. Thank you! By the way, how long do concerts typically last and do you think I'll be okay if I walk back to the hotel?

No worries on the weekend, no doubt I'll be back. I suspect that given the short time I'm there I'll barely scratch the surface. I'm very interested in visiting the museums at Harvard but doubt I'll make it this time. From what I've read they remind me of the museums we visited at Cambridge University (UK).

So where are you headed this time?!?!?! :-) I envy your travel schedule.

The BSO concerts tend to be around 2 hours; no more than 2.5 hours. It is perfectly safe in that area at night. I emailed you with more details on walking route(s).

BTW, apart from better acoustics, the other reason I moved my seat yesterday was:

My neighbor on the R slept through the entire first half, only waking to clap enthusiastically at the conclusion of each piece; and

My neighbor on the L chewed gum with her mouth open the entire time

Sigh... I hope you get better fellow audience on Sat night!

I missed this first time around, so I wanted to chime in on this. I took a tour of the BSO a couple of years ago with the then assistant principal flutist. He said that the absolute best acoustics in the place are the seats straight back furthest from the stage. that means the top balcony, all the way at the back. I've been up there, and its pretty amazing. you can't see all that well, but the sound is awesome.

that said, yk has it right. The only poor seats, accoustically, are the ones under the overhang. I often sit in the first balcony, on the side, and the sound is quite good there.

Generally the better the seat, the better people dress, although this isn't universally true. But if you sit in the first 20 rows of the orchestra, its nice to be at least a little dressier than normal (no jeans, slacks and a dressy top is fine, that kind of thing). In the upper balconies, where there will be many students, people are in jeans and sneakers all the time.

I hope you have a good time! please do let us know how it is.

Well I hope so, too, yk, what a nightmare--glad you moved.

china_cat, thanks for your input, I will definitely report back.

From the DK Eyewitness Travel guide, "Opened in 1900, Symphony Hall is one of the world's most acoustically perfect concert venues...". Wow, that's impressive!