Isaac Stern
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Even if he had played no role in the saving of Carnegie Hall from demolition, with more than 250 performances as recitalist and soloist stretching across six decades from 1943 through 2001, Isaac Stern would still be a major figure in the Hall’s history. The list of conductors under whom he performed reads like a who’s who from the latter half of the 20th century, among them Rodzinski, Mitropoulos, Stokowski, Szell, Walter, Ormandy, Bernstein, Schneider, Solti, Mehta, Barenboim, Rostropovich, Levine, Muti, Slatkin, Dutoit, and Ozawa.
Stern’s association with Carnegie Hall is now often more closely associated with his successful campaign to save it, culminating in 1960 with the New York City Board of Estimate approving the purchase of Carnegie Hall for $5 million. He continued to perform here regularly throughout the following four decades, his final performance taking place on June 9, 2001—a free concert as part of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop. Stern passed away just more than three months later on September 22, 2001. Carnegie Hall’s main auditorium was dedicated in his honor in 1997.
“Everywhere in the world, music enhances a hall, with one exception: Carnegie Hall enhances the music.
From the Archives
Isaac Stern at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall’s performance history database covers more than 50,000 concerts and events that occurred at Carnegie Hall from its opening in 1891 to the present. Explore events related to Isaac Stern (these links will open in a new tab with the performance history search tools):
- First Appearance: Meeting: Solo Recital, January 8, 1943
- Final Appearance: Isaac Stern Workshop: Free Public Concert, June 9, 2001
- Detailed Appearance History