Symphony in Steel: Walt Disney Concert Hall Goes Up

By Gary Leonard

Photographer Gary Leonard captured architectural history by documenting Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall from groundbreaking to completion--now preserved in the definitive photo chronicle "Symphony in Steel."

When Frank Gehry makes a new building--that's architectural history And when Gary Leonard gets out his cameras, Los Angeles history is recorded forever So is it any wonder that Gary Leonard is the only photographer to have documented Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles from the first shovel of dirt that was lifted on groundbreaking day right through to completion? And now, his pictures are the definitive Walt Disney Concert Hall-in-the-making book: Symphony in Steel.

Symphony in Steel is Gary Leonard's photo study of the building that has added a 21st Century style to the skyline of L.A. His lenses captured the people of Los Angeles as they stared into its stainless steel skin. He shot the building from the inside out, from its steel girders to its upholstered seats. He got the then-Los Angeles Philharmonic Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and architect Frank Gehry as they contemplated the future, and acoustic engineer Yasuhisa Toyota as he created the perfect labyrinth of sound. Gary Leonard was the only photographer whose eyes were on site every step of the way--from Day One.

Now for all the Angelenos who will want it, for all the tourists who must take it home, all the L.A. historians and architectural devotees who'll demand it: here's the only book featuring color images of the building on the covers and Gary Leonard's signature black-and-white images inside. Featuring the words of the people who will live with this architectural symphony in steel--the people of Los Angeles, from Esa-Pekka Salonen and Frank Gehry to John J. Doe. Symphony in Steel--the people's book. With photos by the people's photographer, the inimitable Gary Leonard.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883318335
• ISBN13: 9781883318338
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Angel City Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.7" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

A Little Photographic Memoir of an Important Edifice

Gary Leonard had a wise idea back in the days when the Walt Disney Concert Hall was crystallizing from a dream that combined the minds of architect Frank Gehry, Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and acoustician Dr. Minoru Nagata. From the 'breaking ground' photos to the completed 'living room for Los Angeles', Leonard has captured the business of digging, the scaffolding, the unfurling of the stainless steel sails of this floating ship of music along with some intimate shots of people's reactions to all phases. Now in its third year of use the Disney Concert Hall has lived up to and surpassed its claims as being one of the finest halls for hearing music in the world, competing with the Concertgebouw and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall among others. For those who have had the exhilaration of attending concerts in this magnificent (if a bit physically uncomfortable) hall, this little book is a keepsake. More importantly, for those who have only heard rumors about the grandeur of this edifice, this little book opens the structure for worldwide inspection. Grady Harp, May 05