{TABLE} Overture William Tell..........................Rossini Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major........ Mozart Carmen Suite no 1............................. Bizet Overture 1812................................. Tchaikovsky {/TABLE} THE Waterfront Hall in Belfast is undoubtedly newer, cleaner and altogether better appointed than the dingy old Ulster Hall, which, up until now has been the city's principal concert venue. But the jury is still out on the all-important question of the new hall's acoustics.

Sitting in one of the many suspended galleries at the Opening Festival concert on Friday last, the acoustics seemed lively, almost to a fault, but less than clear. Balances were erratic and the Ulster Orchestra's string section made disturbingly little impact.

From a seat on the ground floor arena for this second Opening Festival concert the impression was altogether better. The sound was clearer and slightly drier, although one would still have liked more warmth and body from the strings. Apparently the Albert Hall-like acoustic discs can be redeployed to improve matters.

This was another resolutely popular programme. Galway remains, alas, a mechanical conductor at best, but fortunately we also heard him as soloist in the Mozart concerto, where his partner was Marisa Robles, with whom he has recorded the work no less than four times. This was a delightfully stylish and affectionate performance. The harp does not carry as well as the flute in a large hall like this, but Robles made the most of her part and, for an encore, joined Galway in a performance of Brian Boru's March.

Galway later gave us some more flute solos, introduced in his own inimitable fashion. Barry Douglas had given us his version of Danny Boy the previous evening, and Galway gave us his.