Celebrate the 130th Season of NYC’s iconic Carnegie Hall in a special virtual gala event with top musicians and artists from Broadway, jazz, opera and pop music. It will be quite a night, and it’s FREE to enjoy online.
The gala celebrates a shared love of music – both new and from Carnegie Hall’s illustrious past, along with guests who honor the Hall’s illustrious history and give a peek at its future.
Normally, the season opening event is a big-ticket gala, with attendees in formal evening wear. But since 2020 is not a normal year, the gala is online instead.
Celebrate the best in music with Carnegie Hall at 7:30pm EST on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Carnegie Hall Gala Performers
Alphabetically because that’s the only fair way:
Jon Batiste
Joyce DiDonato
Gustavo Dudamel
Michael Feinstein
Renée Fleming
Rhiannon Giddens and Our Native Daughters
Angélique Kidjo
Lang Lang
Wynton Marsalis
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
James Taylor
Michael Tilson Thomas
Habib Azar, Director
How to watch the Carnegie Hall Gala
At 7:30pm, tune into the live stream on the Carnegie Hall website event page.
If you have trouble with the player, disable ad-blockers and refresh the page.
Watch on YouTube or Facebook to take part in the festivities.
1943 Program Courtesy Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall History
Nearly every important musician of the 20th and 21st century has performed here since Carnegie Hall opened in 1891.
Tchaikovsky conducted the first concert, and later Arturo Toscanini was the longtime conductor.
Leonard Bernstein made his debut here. Concerts by Judy Garland, Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald, among others were recorded for 33rpm record sales.
The magnificent Italian Renaissance building was scheduled for demolition in the 1960s, in an ill-fated “urban renewal” campaign that cost my hometown many famous buildings.
Violinist Issac Stern led a movement to save it – and we are forever grateful. Stern performed at Carnegie Hall more than 200 times between 1943 and 2001.
The building is named for steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, because he paid for it.
Carnegie’s magnificent Fifth Avenue mansion is now the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum/Smithsonian Institution.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Take the N or R to 57th St., and it’s right there. Or, take A, C, D, or #1 to the 59th St./Columbus Circle stop and walk two blocks East.
You can see Toscanini’s baton, Benny Goodman’s clarinet, many of those 33rpm album covers and more at Carnegie Hall’s Rose Museum, which is included in my latest NYC guidebook as one of the “must do” things in the best city on the planet.
Contact me here at evelyn@nyconthecheap.com to order an autographed copy.
About Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contributions help ensure our continued legacy and ability to bring music to the widest possible audience.
Please consider a contribution to Carnegie Hall’s Annual Fund, or explore exclusive gala donor benefits and opportunities.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.