Disney – Half As Spectacular As Bilbao?

David Littlejohn is not very generous in his praise for Frank Gehry’s new Disney Hall. “The result is about half as spectacular as Mr. Gehry’s 1997 Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, with which it will inevitably be compared. Bilbao has a far more impressive location, equal excitement from all directions, and more dramatic interior spaces that visibly reflect its exterior.” Still, “it is one of the most agreeable modern concert halls I have been in (though one heard complaints about steep stairs and tight legroom), reminiscent of Alvar Aalto’s classic halls, and Mr. Gehry’s most humane interior space.”