The Daily Book of Classical Music

DAY 18

VENUES OF THE WORLD

Carnegie Hall

NEW YORK’S FINEST

In the late 19th century, at a time when America was starting to define its cultural identity, American symphonic music struggled to find a place to call home. A chance friendship was about to change all that: Walter Damrosch, a young American conductor on a mission to build a symphonic concert hall in New York, befriended steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie during a sea voyage to Scotland. The two hit it off, and by the end of the summer Damrosch had convinced Carnegie to fund the venture. In 1890 the first stone was laid, and just over a year later Carnegie Hall opened to the public ...