Wood Hath Charms to Woo the Lovely Music

Mark Swed’s article interviewing Peter Sellars (“For L.A., History’s Knocking,” Dec. 26) couldn’t have been better timed for my wife and me. We had just returned from Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Berlin. We attended at least one symphony in each city as well as operas in Vienna, Prague and Berlin. We compared more than three opera houses and four symphonic halls to our Music Center, as well as the unbuilt Disney Hall.

All of the performing platforms were on hardwood. Some were physically connected to the audience floor by wood. The floor under our seats was hardwood. We were connected to and were part of the performance at each hall. At no time did the orchestra shell extend against the inner wall, as it does at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Each orchestra and audience was one.

Sound travels through the air, and air acts as an unseen liquid. When our orchestra is performing, let the artist sit on wood, not on the composition that we have. Connect the stage with the audience by adding wood from the stage to the audience. While the floor of the Pavilion has carpet, it will at least give us the feel of our orchestra. This can be done at very little cost and bring all of us together in one room for far more enjoyment.

ARNOLD SEIDEL

Los Angeles