Biographies

The Music Hall founded by Andrew Carnegie opened on May 5, 1891, with a concert featuring the American debut of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and was at once heralded as a triumph for music and architecture. Designed by William B. Tuthill, the building was a self-contained performing arts complex with three auditoriums, and it quickly became known simply as “Carnegie Hall” in recognition of the great industrialist, whose second career in charitable work set a new standard in philanthropy.

Tchaikovsky’s opening-night appearance set an auspicious precedent for the array of classical musicians and conductors for whom the Hall would become the essential venue in the United States. Henceforth, a success at Carnegie Hall would be the litmus test of greatness. Among the artists who have appeared at Carnegie Hall throughout the years are Maria Callas, Enrico Caruso, Pablo Casals, Jascha Heifetz, Josef Hofmann, Vladimir Horowitz, Gustav Mahler, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Arthur Rubinstein, Arturo Toscanini, Leopold Stokowski, George Szell, and Bruno Walter. The great American orchestras have been a staple of Carnegie Hall programming since the Hall’s first decade, when both the Boston Symphony and Chicago Symphony made their first visits. Over the years it has become a home away from home for the orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Washington, DC, among others. Also calling the Carnegie Hall stage home are such international symphonic ensembles, including the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin and Vienna, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Kirov Orchestra.

Early jazz was first heard at Carnegie Hall in 1912, in a concert of early African-American music by James Reese Europe’s Clef Club Orchestra. The Hall has since featured a cavalcade of jazz greats that has included Fats Waller, W.C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, Gerry Mulligan, Mel Tormé, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. A 1938 concert by Benny Goodman and his band, one of the most celebrated events in Carnegie Hall history, marked a turning point in the public acceptance of swing. Duke Ellington made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1943 with the New York Premiere of his tone poem Black, Brown, and Beige.

In 1925—six years after Andrew Carnegie’s death—Mrs. Carnegie sold the Hall to New York realtor Robert E. Simon. When it was announced in the mid-1950s that the New York Philharmonic would move to a new performing arts center, Carnegie Hall was put up for sale; however, the only parties interested in purchasing it were developers. In September 1957, Life magazine published a now-infamous artist’s rendering of a red office skyscraper proposed by developers to go up on the site of Carnegie Hall. The date of March 31, 1960, was set for its demolition.

Although many wanted to save the Hall, and several committees to help rescue it were formed, it was only at the eleventh hour that the Committee to Save Carnegie Hall, headed by Isaac Stern, was able to stop the impending demolition. On May 16, 1960, as a result of special state legislation, New York City was permitted to purchase Carnegie Hall for $5 million. A new nonprofit organization, The Carnegie Hall Corporation, was chartered, and to this day it manages the building and its operations. Isaac Stern served as President of the Corporation for over four decades, until his death in September 2001.

Carnegie Hall thrived throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, hosting renowned artists such as Judy Garland, Vladimir Horowitz, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Itzhak Perlman, and Luciano Pavarotti. By the late 1970s, however, concerns were mounting about the physical condition of the Hall, and a 1981 architectural evaluation showed a serious need for renovation. Carnegie Hall celebrated the 25^th anniversary of its “saving” by announcing a $60 million capital campaign committed to the restoration and renovation of the building. On May 18, 1986, Carnegie Hall closed its doors and on December 15 of the same year reopened with a completely refurbished main lobby, box office, Recital Hall, Main Hall, and backstage area.

In 1987, the Recital Hall was renamed Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in recognition of the long-standing generosity and support of current Carnegie Hall Chairman Sanford I. Weill and his wife. Carnegie Hall’s Rose Museum opened in April 1991, when it began displaying historical memorabilia from the Hall’s archives, as well as special exhibitions relating to themes in concert programming. In January 1997, the Main Hall was dedicated as Isaac Stern Auditorium.

Carnegie Hall announced a Composer’s Chair for the first time in its history in January 1995. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich began her four-year term as the inaugural appointee in July of that year, and she served as a collaborator in many aspects of the Hall’s activities, including contemporary music programming, the commissioning program, and educational projects. September 1999 marked the beginning of Pierre Boulez’s tenure as holder of the newly named Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Boulez was succeeded by composer John Adams in the fall of 2003.  Beginning in the 2007–2008 season, the Debs Composer’s Chair was reconfigured as a one-year position, then held by composer Thomas Adès.  Composer Elliott Carter celebrated his 100th birthday during his Composer’s Chair residency in 2008–2009 and was recently succeeded by current Debs Composer Louis Andriessen (2009–2010). 

Other recent programming initiatives include several signature series: Making Music, featuring conversations with and the performance of works by living composers; and Perspectives, in which select musicians are invited to explore their musical individuality and create their own concert series in collaboration with other musicians and ensembles  Previous Perspectives artists have included conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim; conductors Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Michael Tilson Thomas, and David Robertson; violinist Gidon Kremer; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Maurizio Pollini, Peter Serkin, and Mitsuko Uchida; soprano Dawn Upshaw; bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff; the Emerson String Quartet; Senegalese vocalist Youssou N’Dour; Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso; Indian classical tabla player Zakir Hussain; and experimental rocker David Byrne.

Plans were announced in January 1999 to renovate Carnegie Hall’s lower level into a flexible hall for performance and education. The space had served various purposes in its first century, including a medium-sized auditorium called the Carnegie Lyceum and the Carnegie Hall Cinema movie theater. The new performance space, located directly beneath Isaac Stern Auditorium, opened in September 2003 as Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. The completion of Zankel Hall represented Carnegie Hall’s return to its founder’s vision of three great halls of varying sizes all under one roof. Zankel Hall opened on September 12, 2003, with a two-week Opening Festival of 23 events representative of its season programming, from classical, jazz, world, and pop music to family concerts and education programs. The technologically advanced venue, which seats more than 600, can be configured in a number of ways and features high-performance communications networks that allow for multimedia productions and interactive educational activities.

Also in September 2003, Carnegie Hall established The Weill Music Institute in honor of Board Chairman Sanford I. Weill. The Weill Music Institute uses the resources of Carnegie Hall’s three stages in a comprehensive variety of acclaimed music education programs. The Institute reaches a broad audience—ranging from preschoolers to adults, concertgoers to emerging professional musicians, in the New York metropolitan region, across the United States, and around the world—through school-based programs, Carnegie Hall Family Concerts, free Neighborhood Concerts, adult education programs, and Professional Training Workshops with internationally renowned artists and performers.

In January 2007, The Academy was launched as initiated by Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director Clive Gillinson in partnership with Joseph W. Polisi, President of The Juilliard School.  A two-year program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, The Academy is designed to develop the skills and values necessary for careers that combine musical excellence with education, community engagement, and advocacy. The program serves postgraduate musicians with opportunities to perform in concert halls, to teach in public schools, to engage in local communities and college campuses, and to support this work through professional development. The program reflects the belief that the artist of tomorrow will require both the ability to perform at the highest level and the capacity to give back to the community, inspiring the next generation of musicians and music lovers. A partnership with Skidmore College that began in the 2007–08 season will also bring performances and educational events to the Saratoga Springs community.

In November 2007, Carnegie Hall launched its first major international festival, Berlin in Lights.  Along with partner venues throughout New York City, Berlin in Lights featured close to 50 events over 17 days capturing a snapshot of contemporary Berlin, the city that today has reemerged as one of the world’s centers of artistic expression and forward thinking. 

The following fall, in partnership with the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall presented Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds which commemorated the 90th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic and featured more than 30 events in seven different venues throughout New York City.  The following March, acclaimed soprano Jessye Norman curated a festival titled HONOR!: A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy which saluted the enduring vitality, influence, and creativity of African American culture through a collection of close to 20 concerts and recitals, lectures, panel discussions, exhibitions, and educational programs at Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and other venues throughout New York City.   

Carnegie Hall continues to present major international and national festivals to offer audiences opportunities to undertake compelling journeys of discovery, which include not only extraordinary concerts at Carnegie Hall, but also films, lectures, readings, museum exhibits, and more, through partnerships with other cultural institutions. Equally important to each festival are educational programs in the New York City schools, designed to stimulate the imagination of students and nurture their creativity.

Today, Carnegie Hall presents more than 180 concerts each year—from orchestral performances, chamber music, recitals, and choral music to folk, world, musical theater, and jazz. The venue is also home to over 500 independently produced events each year.  Through the work of The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, wide-reaching music education programs serve people in the New York City metropolitan region, across the United States, and around the world, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall's commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible.  Continually building on its long-standing tradition of excellence and innovation, Carnegie Hall remains one of the world’s premier concert venues.

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Clive Gillinson became Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall in July 2005, having been appointed the previous season.  Mr. Gillinson is responsible for developing the artistic concepts for Carnegie Hall presentations in its three halls – the celebrated Isaac Stern Auditorium (cap. 2804), the innovative new Zankel Hall (cap. 600), and the intimate Weill Recital Hall (cap. 268) – representing more than 200 performances each season, ranging from orchestral concerts, solo recitals, and chamber music to jazz, world, and popular music.  He also oversees the management of all aspects of the world-renowned venue, including strategic and artistic planning, resource development, education, finance, and administration and operations for The Weill Music Institute which taps the resources of Carnegie Hall to bring music education to people in the New York City metropolitan region, across the United States, and around the world.

Since his arrival in New York, Mr. Gillinson has worked to build upon the quality, creativity, diversity, and extraordinary history for which Carnegie Hall is widely known.  Under his leadership, Carnegie Hall has embarked upon a bold new direction in its concert and education programming, augmenting and integrating current offerings with large-scale festivals each year that use the full range of the Hall’s artistic and educational resources and take audiences on musical journeys that extend beyond single performances and concert series.  Carnegie Hall launched this initiative in November 2007 with its first major international festival, Berlin in Lights, which over 17 days celebrated the vibrant city that is Berlin today. During the 2008-2009 season, Carnegie Hall presented two city-wide festivals that celebrated the dynamic culture and distinctive history of American music: Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds and Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy.  Ancient Paths, Modern Voices, a festival celebrating Chinese culture will follow in the fall 2009.

As a demonstration of his strong belief that the arts should be central to society and accessible to all, Mr. Gillinson conceptualized and helped implement The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.  Now having completed three seasons, The Academy is an innovative fellowship for outstanding US-based post-graduate musicians.  Designed to help bridge the gap between academic and professional lives, the two-year program provides musicians with performance opportunities, advanced musical training, and intensive teaching instruction and hands-on experience working in New York City public schools.

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Clive Gillinson was born in Bangalore, India, in 1946; his mother was a professional cellist and his father, a businessman, also wrote and painted. Mr. Gillinson began studying the cello at the age of eleven and played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He went to London University to study mathematics, but realizing that he wanted to make music his life, entered the Royal Academy of Music, where he gained a Recital Diploma and won the top cello prize.  After attending the Royal Academy of Music, Mr. Gillinson became a member of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.

Mr. Gillinson joined the London Symphony Orchestra cello section in 1970 and was elected to the Board of Directors of the self-governing orchestra in 1976, also serving as Finance Director. In 1984 he was asked by the Board to become Managing Director of the LSO, a position he held until becoming the Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall in 2005.

Under Mr. Gillinson's leadership, the LSO initiated some of that city’s most innovative and successful artistic festivals, working with many of today's leading artists. In the international touring arena, the LSO established an annual residency in New York from 1997 and was a founding partner in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, in 1990, with Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas.   Mr. Gillinson believes in taking great music to the society at large.  In this area, his initiatives with the London Symphony Orchestra included the development of the LSO Discovery music education program, reaching over 30,000 people of all ages annually; and the creation of LSO St. Luke’s, the UBS and LSO Music Education Center, which involved the restoration and reconstruction of St. Luke’s, a magnificent, but previously derelict 18th-century church.  Mr. Gillinson also created LSO Live, the orchestra's award-winning international CD label.

Mr. Gillinson served as Chairman of the Association of British Orchestras; was one of the founding Trustees of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts; and was founding Chairman of the Management Committee of the Clore Leadership Programme. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in the 1999 New Year Honours List and received the 2004 Making Music Sir Charles Groves Prize for his outstanding contribution to British music.  Mr. Gillinson was appointed Knight Bachelor in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2005, the only orchestra manager ever to be honored with a Knighthood.  He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in May 2007. Mr. Gillinson also serves on the Honorary Board of the Brubeck Institute of the University of the Pacific.

Mr. Gillinson and his wife, Penny, have three children, Sarah, Miriam, and David. An avid reader and champion of the theater and cinema, Mr. Gillinson is also a sports enthusiast and participates regularly in tennis and running.