After a decade as the Kapellmeister in the Court of Weimar, Franz Liszt resigned. Between his resignation in 1859 and his move to Rome in 1861, he wrote a letter of introduction for a fellow musician who would alter American history.
“To all who are known to me personally in friendship and those who are able to judge and understand musical talent I herewith specially and particularly recommend Mr. Music Director Leopold Damrosch, Composer, Conductor, and Violin Virtuoso in all aspects an honorable and respected Artist.”
The brief letter from one of the world’s most talented, famous, and influential composers immediately opened doors for Damrosch, first in Posen, Prussia (today’s Poznan, Poland), then Breslau (today’s Wroclaw, Poland), and lastly in New York City. Damrosch, along with his wife, a daughter, and two sons, would make America their permanent home.
In 1871, the German-American Arion Society of New York invited Damrosch to become their conductor. Damrosch quickly got to work transforming the music scene of New York City. In 1873, he organized the Oratorio Society, which performed its first choral concert that same year. Three years later, he became the conductor for the Philharmonic Society, and founded the Symphony Society of New York, later named the New York Symphony. (In 1928, the two musical societies merged to establish the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York.)
All of Leopold’s children followed in his musical footsteps. It would fall to his youngest son, Walter, to achieve his greatest vision: a music house fit for the growing metropolis and the talented musicians and singers he had accumulated.
The Man of Steel and Philanthropy
A decade prior in 1875, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Andrew Carnegie opened his first steel plant. In 1868, he had written himself a letter to resign from business by the age of 35, which would have been in 1870. Although he did not hold himself to his 1870 pledge (he would not retire until 1901 after selling his steel corporation to J.P. Morgan for $480 million), he did begin pursuing philanthropic causes. His generosity eventually afforded him the moniker of “Father of Modern Philanthropy” and the “Patron Saint of Libraries” (due to founding more than 2,500 of them).
A Fortuitous Meeting
Fortuitously, Walter Damrosch was also aboard the Fulda. Louise introduced Damrosch, who happened to be the conductor for the Oratorio Society, to her new husband. Damrosch discussed his hope for a grand New York City music house. Carnegie was intrigued and agreed to help bring this vision to fruition.
In 1889, Carnegie formed the Music Hall Company of New York. He sent a letter to Hiram Hitchcock, the owner of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, requesting his assistance in finding land in the city to purchase. His requirements were that the location not be “below 56th” nor “upon Madison Square.” The chosen location was two blocks south of Central Park on 881 Seventh Avenue.
Carnegie chose William Tuthill as the project’s architect despite never having built a concert hall. Interestingly, Tuthill was also an accomplished cellist. The 34-year-old architect proved to be the right man for the job.
Although Carnegie was America’s steel tycoon, no steel would be in the hall’s construction (although steel would be added in later years). It would be strictly built of masonry. The choice to do so was to create the best acoustic sound possible.
Philosophy Meets Action
Chief among most, Carnegie knew what it was like to be both rich and poor. By way of industry, he himself had witnessed how “conditions of human life have not only been changed, but revolutionized.” Within that revolution to which he had gained so much through labor, risk, and an elevated business acumen, he believed the rich had an obligation not only to society, but to their own posterity: “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.”
The Grand Opening
On May 13, 1890, construction began when Louise Whitfield Carnegie laid the cornerstone for the Music Hall of New York.
Over the following year, construction ensued, and by April of 1891, the Recital Hall and Chamber Music Hall were complete. The finishing touches were being made to the Main Hall.
The advertisements were out, the tickets were sold (single concert tickets were just $1), and the five-night Opening Week Festival was scheduled for the Music Hall of New York. It was during this week in history, on May 5, 1891, that the Music Hall (renamed Carnegie Hall in 1893) opened.
Fittingly, Damrosch, the inspiration behind Carnegie Hall’s creation, was the first conductor on the stage. He first conducted the classic Christian hymn, “Old Hundredth” and later in the evening Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture No. 3.”
But for such a grand evening, only a grand performance by a grand performer would do. Russia’s living-legend Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted his own work, “Marche Solennelle.” Tchaikovsky would perform three more times during the opening week.
