Carnegie Hall

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Carnegie Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
NYC Landmark
Carnegie Hall
Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York City, NY
Coordinates: 40°45′53.8″N 73°58′48.5″W / 40.764944°N 73.980139°W / 40.764944; -73.980139
Built/Founded: 1890
Architect: William Tuthill
Architectural style(s): Italian renaissance
Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL: December 29, 1962[2]
Designated NYCL: June 20, 1967
NRHP Reference#: 66000535

Carnegie Hall (generally pronounced /ˌkɑrnɨɡi ˈhɔːl/)[3][unreliable source?] is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park.

Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1891, it is one of the most famous venues in the United States for classical music and popular music, renowned for its beauty, history and acoustics. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic programming, development, and marketing departments, and presents about 250 performances each season. It is also rented out to performing groups. The hall has not had a resident company since the New York Philharmonic moved to Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall in 1962.

Other concert halls that bear Carnegie's name include: 420-seat Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia; 1928-seat Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the site of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the main branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; 1022-seat Carnegie Music Hall annexed to Pittsburgh suburb Homestead's Carnegie library; and 540-seat Carnegie Hall, in Andrew Carnegie's native Dunfermline, Scotland.

Contents

[edit] Carnegie Hall venues

Carnegie Hall contains three distinct, separate performance spaces:

[edit] The Main Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium)

Isaac Stern Auditorium

Carnegie Hall's main auditorium seats 2,804 on five levels. It was named for the violinist Isaac Stern in 1997. The Main Hall is enormously tall, and visitors to the top balcony must climb 105 steps. All but the top level can be reached by elevator.[4]

The main hall was home to the performances of the New York Philharmonic from its opening until 1962. Known as the most prestigious concert stage in the U.S., almost all of the leading classical music, and more recently, popular music, performers since 1891 have performed there. After years of heavy wear and tear, the hall was extensively renovated in 1986 (see below).

[edit] Zankel Hall

Zankel Hall, which seats 599, is named for Judy and Arthur Zankel. Originally called simply Recital Hall, this was the first auditorium to open to the public in April 1891. Following renovations made in 1896, it was renamed Carnegie Lyceum. It was leased to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1898, converted into a cinema around 1959, and was reclaimed for use as an auditorium in 1997. The completely reconstructed Zankel Hall opened in the space in September 2003.[5][6]

[edit] Weill Recital Hall

Weill Recital Hall, which seats 268, is named for Sanford I. Weill, the chairman of Carnegie Hall's board, and his wife, Joan. This auditorium, in use since the hall opened in 1891, was originally called Chamber Music Hall (later Carnegie Chamber Music Hall); the name was changed to Carnegie Recital Hall in the late 1940s, and finally became Weill Recital Hall in 1986.

[edit] Other facilities

The building also contains the Carnegie Hall Archives, established in 1986, and the Rose Museum, which opened in 1991. Studios above the Hall contain working spaces for artists in the performing and graphic arts including music, drama, dance, as well as architects, playwrights, literary agents, photographers, and painters. In 2007, the Carnegie Hall Corporation announced plans to evict the 33 remaining studio residents, some residing in the building since the 1950s including celebrity portrait photographer Editta Sherman, to re-purpose the space for educational facilities.[7][8]

[edit] Architecture

Carnegie Hall is one of the last large buildings in New York built entirely of masonry, without a steel frame; however, when several flights of studio spaces were added to the building near the turn of the 20th century, a steel framework was erected around segments of the building. The exterior is rendered in narrow Roman bricks of a mellow ochre hue, with details in terracotta and brownstone. The foyer avoids contemporary Baroque theatrics with a high-minded exercise in the Florentine Renaissance manner of Filippo Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel: white plaster and gray stone form a harmonious system of round-headed arched openings and Corinthian pilasters that support an unbroken cornice, with round-headed lunettes above it, under a vaulted ceiling. The famous white and gold interior is similarly restrained.

[edit] History

Andrew Carnegie, 1913

Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. It was intended as a venue for the Oratorio Society of New York and the New York Symphony Society, on whose boards Carnegie served. Construction began in 1890, and was carried out by Isaac A. Hopper and Company. Although the building was in use from April 1891, the official opening night was on May 5, with a concert conducted by maestro Walter Damrosch and composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Originally known simply as "Music Hall" (the words "Music Hall founded by Andrew Carnegie" still appear on the façade above the marquee), the hall was renamed Carnegie Hall in 1893 after board members of the Music Hall Company of New York (the hall's original governing body) persuaded Carnegie to allow the use of his name. Several alterations were made to the building between 1893 and 1896, including the addition of two towers of artists' studios, and alterations to the smaller auditorium on the building's lower level.

The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1925, when Carnegie's widow sold it to a real estate developer, Robert E. Simon. When Simon died in 1935, his son, Robert E. Simon, Jr. took over. By the mid-1950s, changes in the music business prompted Simon to offer Carnegie Hall for sale to the New York Philharmonic, which booked a majority of the hall's concert dates each year. The orchestra declined, since they planned to move to Lincoln Center, then in the early stages of planning. At the time, it was widely believed that New York City could not support two major concert venues. Facing the loss of the hall's primary tenant, Simon was forced to offer the building for sale. A deal with a commercial developer fell through, and by 1960, with the New York Philharmonic on the move to Lincoln Center, the building was slated for demolition to make way for a commercial skyscraper. Under pressure from a group led by violinist Isaac Stern and many of the artist residents, special legislation was passed that allowed the city of New York to buy the site from Simon for $5 million (which he would use to establish Reston, VA), and in May 1960 the nonprofit Carnegie Hall Corporation was created to run the venue. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[2][9][10]

The NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, frequently recorded in the Main Hall for RCA Victor. In the fall of 1950, the orchestra's weekly broadcast concerts were moved there until the orchestra disbanded in 1954. Several of the concerts were televised by NBC, preserved on kinescopes, and have been released on home video.

Most of the greatest performers of classical music since the time Carnegie Hall was built have performed in the Main Hall, and its lobbies are adorned with signed portraits and memorabilia. Many legendary jazz and popular music performers have also given memorable performances at Carnegie Hall including Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, Harry Belafonte, James Gang and Stevie Ray Vaughan, all of whom made celebrated live recordings of their concerts there.[4]

Carnegie Hall was the first major concert venue in the U.S. to hold a biracial music performance.[citation needed] On January 16, 1938, the Benny Goodman Orchestra gave a sold-out swing and jazz concert that also featured, among other guest performers, Count Basie and members of Duke Ellington's orchestra.

Rock and Roll first came to Carnegie Hall when Bill Haley and his Comets appeared in a variety benefit concert on May 6, 1955.[11] Rock acts were not regularly booked at the Hall, however, until February 12, 1964, when The Beatles performed two shows during their historic first trip to the United States.[12] Promoter Sid Bernstein convinced Carnegie officials that allowing a Beatles concert at the venue "would further international understanding" between the United States and Great Britain.[13] Since then numerous rock, blues, jazz and country performers have appeared at the hall every season.

[edit] Renovations and additions

Carnegie Hall - Elevation

The building was extensively renovated in 1983 and 2003, by James Polshek, who became better known through his post-modern planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. Polshek and his firm, Polshek Partnership, were involved since 1978 in four phases of the Hall's renovation and expansion including the creation of a Master Plan in 1980; the actual renovation of the main hall, the Stern Auditorium, and the creation of the Weill Recital Hall and Kaplan Rehearsal Space, all in 1987; the creation of the Rose Museum, East Room and Club Room (later renamed Rohatyn Room and Shorin Club Room, respectively), all in 1991; and, most recently, the creation of Zankel Hall in 2003.[5][6]

The renovation was not without controversy. Following completion of work on the main auditorium in 1986, there were complaints that the famous acoustics of the hall had been diminished.[14] Although officials involved in the renovation denied that there was any change, complaints persisted for the next nine years. In 1995, the cause of the problem was discovered to be a slab of concrete under the stage. The slab was subsequently removed.[15]

Carnegie Hall Tower

In 1987–1989, a 60-floor office tower, named Carnegie Hall Tower, was completed next to the hall on the same block. New backstage space and banquet spaces, contained within the tower, connect with the main Carnegie Hall building.

In June 2003, tentative plans were made for the Philharmonic to return to Carnegie Hall beginning in 2006, and for the orchestra to merge its business operations with those of the venue. However, these plans were called off later in 2003.

[edit] Management

The Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall (from July 2005) is Sir Clive Gillinson, formerly managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra.

[edit] The Carnegie Hall Archives

Unexpectedly, for most concert-goers, it emerged in 1986 that Carnegie Hall had never consistently maintained an archive. Without a central repository, a significant portion of Carnegie Hall's documented history had been dispersed. In preparation for the celebration of Carnegie Hall's centennial (1991), the Carnegie Hall Archives was established.

[edit] Carnegie Hall Joke

A venerable story has become part of the folklore of the hall: A New Yorker (or in some versions Arthur Rubinstein) is approached in the street near Carnegie Hall, and asked, "Pardon me sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" He replies, "Practice, practice, practice." The Directions page of the Carnegie Hall Web site gently alludes to the joke.

[edit] World premieres at Carnegie Hall

[edit] See also

Carnegie Hall, main entrance

[edit] References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/. 
  2. ^ a b "Carnegie Hall". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-09. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=387&ResourceType=Building. 
  3. ^ Although Andrew Carnegie pronounced his name with the stress on the second syllable, the building is generally pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.
  4. ^ a b Bronx General Interest: General Interest in Bronx, New York
  5. ^ a b Dunlap, David W. (2000-01-30), "Carnegie Hall Grows the Only Way It Can; Burrowing Into Bedrock, Crews Carve Out a New Auditorium", New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E0D91E3CF933A05752C0A9669C8B63 
  6. ^ a b Muschamp, Herbert T. (2003-09-12), "ARCHITECTURE REVIEW; Zankel Hall, Carnegie's Buried Treasure", New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EED9133BF931A2575AC0A9659C8B63 
  7. ^ Wendy Goodman (30 December 2007). "Great Rooms - The Remaining Tenants of the Carnegie Hall Studio Towers". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/homedesign/greatrooms/42385/. Retrieved on 2008-11-07. 
  8. ^ Jessica Pressler (20 October 2008). "Editta Sherman, 96-Year-Old Squatter". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/10/editta_sherman_96-year-old_squ.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-07. 
  9. ^ "["Carnegie Hall", by Richard Greenwood. National Register of Historic Places Inventory]". National Park Service. 1975-05-30. "Carnegie Hall", by Richard Greenwood.. 
  10. ^ "["Carnegie Hall--Accompanying Photos". National Register of Historic Places Inventory]". National Park Service. 1975-05-30. "Carnegie Hall--Accompanying Photos".. 
  11. ^ "Stars assist the blind" The New York Times. May 7, 1955.
  12. ^ John S. Wilson, "2,900-Voice Chorus Joins The Beatles". The New York Times. February 13, 1964.
  13. ^ Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever (New York: Cameron House, 1977), 14.
  14. ^ Michael Walsh, "Sounds in the night". Time, 16 February 1987.
  15. ^ Kozinn, Alan (1995-09-14). "A Phantom Exposed: Concrete at Carnegie". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEFD8173FF937A2575AC0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved on 2008-03-16. 
  • Richard Schickel, The World of Carnegie Hall, 1960, recounts all the lore.

[edit] External links

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