This hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic, has been infamous for its less-than-fantastic acoustics since it opened in 1962. The initial interior plan was designed by the noted acoustics firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman, but when Lincoln Center caved to the demands of newspaper critics and substantially increased the number of seats in the hall, it invalidated much of the work the firm had done and dramatically altered the acoustic profile of the hall--negatively in the minds of most listeners. Since the hall's opening several renovations have been done to improve its acoustics, including one in the 1970s lead by the noted architect Philip Johnson and another by the architect Norman Foster that is slated to begin sometime in the next few years.
