Disney Hall is still the ticket

After two seasons, Disney Hall is as tough a ticket as ever.

Los Angeles Philharmonic officials say they sold 97% of available seats for the 2004-05 season’s 167 concerts from Sept. 29 through June 9.

This sophomore performance put the orchestra roughly on par with its 2003-04 debut season in the 2,255-seat, steel-sheathed hall (99% of tickets sold; about 150 performances) and far ahead of sales figures from its old home across the street. In its last season in the 3,086-seat Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, in 2002-03, the Philharmonic sold about 60% of seats for a 98-performance season.

Meanwhile, subscription sales have begun for the 2005-06 season, and single tickets will go on sale in September. And there is a sliver of hope for those inclined to last-minute concertgoing decisions: Because many ticket holders make eleventh-hour decisions to switch nights or donate tickets to the hall, Philharmonic spokeswoman Rachelle Roe notes, Disney often has tickets available in the last days and hours before a show.

For the coming season, tickets will range from $15 to $129. Since boosting prices for the move to Disney Hall, orchestra officials have kept rates nearly flat, with no year-to-year hikes of more than $4.

Christopher Reynolds