Carnegie Hall commemorates the 70th anniversary of legendary clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman's January 1938 Carnegie Hall debut, one of the most celebrated moments in jazz history, with a special exhibit in the Rose Museum—Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall.
The exhibit shows Goodman as not only one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians, but also one of the finest classical clarinetists of his day.
Materials on display from the Carnegie Hall Archives and The Benny Goodman Papers at Yale University include programs, flyers, recordings, rarely seen photographs, and Goodman’s Buffet clarinet—the instrument that he was actively using until his death in June 1986. Also on display are manuscripts to several classical works commissioned by Goodman and premiered at Carnegie Hall, including Paul Hindemith’s Clarinet Concerto and Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano. Film footage taken during the 1938 concert, as well as other video clips of Goodman at Carnegie Hall, are showing on two screens in the Rose Museum.
Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall runs through June 30, 2008, at the Rose Museum.