Detail: For more than a century, Carnegie Hall has set the standard for excellence in performance. Its walls have echoed with applause for the world’s outstanding classical artists, as they have for the greatest popular musicians of our time and for the many prominent dancers, politicians, authors, and crusaders who have appeared on its stage. From Gustav Mahler to Liza Minnelli, from John Philip Sousa to Leopold Stokowski, from Fats Waller to Woodrow Wilson, and from Ignace Jan Paderewski to Luciano Pavarotti, Carnegie Hall has been host to them all.
Every artist who stands on the Hall’s stage is standing on a base of history, anchored by that tradition of excellence. For Carnegie Hall is more than bricks and mortar. It is a living entity: a participant in the dreams and defining moments of the world’s most esteemed performing artists, and an embodiment of the aspirations of all those who have striven, on both sides of the footlights, to sustain our musical culture and convey it to future generations. Although the Hall bears Andrew Carnegie’s name, he was “but the first of its many benefactors.“ Each decade has brought forth those, like Isaac Stern, who helped keep the dream alive so that it might continue to inspire, and those who have given the dream new dimensions and directions so that it might “continue to grow.”
Under the guidance of these custodians, and with help from many, Carnegie Hall has already transformed itself from an institution that embodies the art of music into one that is also capable of engendering it on many levels. It remains, as it has been for more than ten decades, America’s preeminent concert hall, a vital, active center of “culture that represents an ongoing moment of truth for performers and audience alike.” “Who shall venture to paint its history or its end?” asked Andrew Carnegie, when the cornerstone of his new Music Hall was laid in 1890. “It is built to stand for
ages, and during these ages it is probable that this hall will intertwine itself with the
history of our country.”
Hours of Operation:
Mon-Sat: 11:00am-6:00pm
Sun : 12:00pm-6:00pm
