Carnegie Hall, Performance venue in Midtown Manhattan, United States
Carnegie Hall is a performance venue in Midtown Manhattan that houses three concert spaces: Stern Auditorium with 2804 seats, Zankel Hall with 599 seats, and Weill Recital Hall with 268 seats. Each room carries its own acoustic character and atmosphere, shaped by the type of performance it hosts.
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of this Renaissance Revival concert hall, which opened in 1891 following architect William Tuthill's design. In the decades that followed it hosted premieres by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Rachmaninoff as well as performances by legendary conductors and instrumentalists.
Throughout each season visitors experience roughly 250 evenings that range from symphony orchestras and piano recitals to jazz groups and contemporary artists. Audiences come from every borough and far beyond, so the lobbies and balconies hum with many languages before the lights dim.
The address is 881 Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets, and guided tours explain the architectural details as well as the musical legacy of the building. Visitors interested in acoustics should note that each of the three halls offers a different listening environment.
In the 1950s the building faced demolition until a campaign led by violinist Isaac Stern persuaded New York City to purchase it in 1960. The ceiling of the main auditorium is hand-painted with mythological figures that are most visible from the upper balconies during daylight hours.
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