“A concert hall that was simply too cavernous: hard to sell out and leaving audiences feeling distant from the music. Lobbies that have grown shabby over time. A fortresslike presence, somewhat isolated from the city just outside its doors. These are all problems that Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic have been trying to fix for nearly two decades at the theater now known as David Geffen Hall – and still hope to, after their announcement earlier this month that they had scrapped a $500 million gut renovation in favor of a more modest approach. But Cincinnati faced these issues too – and went ahead and did something about them.”