“On balance, this is beyond measure a better hall than it used to be, better than my fondest expectations for the refurbishment and better than London has heard since Queens Hall was bombed in May 1941. It is good enough to show up the limitations of resident orchestras and challenge their London swagger. It is also good enough to command admiration and renewed public affection. What it is not, and never will be, is the equal of classic shoebox-shaped halls in Vienna, Amsterdam and Boston, or of modern marvels in Birmingham, Lucerne and Los Angeles.”