New York's Carnegie Hall is 120 years old and is one of the most prestigious

New York/Praha - Performing at the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York is a dream and an aspiration for many artists, but the conditions are tough. The programming of the hall is primarily focused on classical music, but performers of lighter genres - rock, pop, or musical theater - also have a chance. The first visitors were welcomed by Carnegie Hall 120 years ago, on May 5, 1891, then still under the name Music Hall. After two years, it was renamed in honor of the patron Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919).
The building on Seventh Avenue, known for its excellent acoustics, began to be used as early as April 1891. However, it was officially "christened" only with the May concert conducted by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Carnegie Hall became one of the last large buildings in the city built without the use of steel construction. Designed in Italian Renaissance style from bricks and sandstone, it was created by the American architect William Tuthill.
Carnegie Hall has three concert halls. The largest is the Main Hall, also known as Isaac Stern Auditorium. In 1997, it was named after the violinist Isaac Stern, who helped save the building from demolition in the 1960s. The Main Hall has five levels, so visitors with tickets to the upper balconies must climb 137 steps. The hall has 2804 seats, and the lobby is decorated with signed portraits of the greatest classical music artists.
The second hall is the former Recital Hall, now named Zankel Hall. The space, which also served as a cinema for a time, was reopened after renovation in 2003. The hall has 599 seats. The smallest space is the Weil Recital Hall, a chamber hall with 268 seats. At Carnegie Hall, which hosts about 250 various performances each year, there is also a recording studio, an archive, a museum, and several rehearsal rooms for artists.
The year 1893 marked a significant moment in the history of this "temple of music," when Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony had its world premiere here. In the following years, the stage of Carnegie Hall has been graced by the best of the best: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Enrico Caruso, Leonard Bernstein, and Plácido Domingo. Performers such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones have also graced its stage.
Czech and Slovak artists have not been left out either. Notable performances at Carnegie Hall include those by singers Dagmar Pecková and Eva Urbanová, pianist Ivan Moravec, the Kühn Children's Choir, the Czech Philharmonic, and the Talich Quartet. Iva Bittová performed alongside the New York ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the recital by Karel Gott with Helena Vondráčková or the concert by Slovak band Elán received considerable media attention.
Getting to perform at Carnegie Hall is not easy. The program and performers are decided by an artistic council that considers who is worthy of the attention of the pampered New York audience. Obligations for aspiring performers also include raising funds. The management of the hall does not pay traditional fees and does not cover costs. Just performing on the stage of Carnegie Hall is considered a sufficient reward, upon which an international career and artistic prestige can be built.
The family of steel magnate Carnegie owned the hall until 1925, when the founder's widow sold it to Robert Simon, a real estate businessman. His son offered Carnegie Hall for sale to the New York Philharmonic in the 1950s, which had been subscribing to it annually. However, the city could not support two concert halls, and the building faced the risk of having to make way for skyscrapers. Ultimately, New York purchased the now landmark-protected concert hall for five million dollars.