Carnegie Hall - the famous concert hall, one of the most prestigious places in the world for classical and popular music. There were great musicians, there were world premieres of works by Stravinsky, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg.

The idea of ​​creating such a center of music was in the air since the Civil War, after which New York has become one of the largest cities in the world. Its residents embraced the craze for music in the city were symphonic and choral society, but there was a decent concert venue.

In the spring of 1887 the young American conductor and pianist Walter Damrosch went to Germany for a tour. On board the ship appeared newlyweds Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield, who were to honeymoon in Scotland. Trinity became friends, and Carnegie, incredibly rich king of the steel industry, became interested in the idea of ​​creating a large concert hall.

After the honeymoon Carnegie immediately brought into action his plan: he bought a plot of land on Seventh Avenue, commissioned the project. The architect William Burnet Tuthill (very good cellist) designed entirely brick building without traditional US internal steel frame. Facade details with terracotta was decorated narrow Roman bricks of ocher color of ripe. The internal volume of the building took three separate rooms: the main (Now he wears the name of the violinist Isaac Stern) 2,800 seats and two more chamber at 600 and 268 seats. Acoustics was the magnificent halls.

May 5, 1891 the grand opening of Carnegie Hall. The event marked a five-day music festival, whose guest of honor was Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He conducted the performance of his own works - "Coronation March", written for the Emperor Alexander III, and the Concerto for piano and orchestra number 1.

Carnegie Hall belonged to the family until 1925, then was sold. In the sixties of the last century it was under threat: the owner had planned to tear it down and build a skyscraper here. The public was outraged, and the city bought out Carnegie Hall.

At the end of XX century the building was reconstructed. Not without controversy on this point: people have complained that the speaker was the seemingly worse. It turned out that the reason for this - a forgotten piece of the scene of the concrete slab. When removed, the acoustics recovered.

There were Fyodor Chaliapin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Emil Gilels, David Oistrakh, Arturo Toscanini, Vladimir Horowitz. But Carnegie Hall receives not only classical music: there gave concerts jazz legend Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Quartet Dave Brubeck, Billy Holiday, here sung by Judy Garland and Harry Belafonte, is twice made during their first trip to the US "The Beatles." Today, Carnegie Hall - one of the most important brands of the world music culture.