Carnegie Hall in New York

Carnegie Hall in New York is the city’s most famous concert venue. Since its opening in 1891, it hosted more than 46.000 performances, including some big names from the classical and popular music scene. Carnegie Hall was built in 1890 by and named after Andrew Carnegie. Fun fact: this Scottish surname is pronounced ‘CarNEgie’, but the building’s name is pronounced ‘CARnegie’. Alright, one more: if you start coughing during a performance, the staff will bring you sweets to soothe your throat. How about that for service?

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Carnegie Hall, Concert Venue with Style

From the outside, Carnegie Hall isn’t particularly impressive, but from the inside it definitely is. You’ll see that the moment you walk into the hall, which you can do without a ticket. The building consists of 3 halls. The ‘main hall’ – nowadays the Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage – can accommodate 2800 people, the Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall below can host 600 people and the Joan and Sandford I. Weill Recital Hall, 250 people. I haven’t tried them all, but these halls are said not to have any bad seats, only the legroom on the balcony is a bit small. It must be said: Carnegie Hall’s acoustics are brilliant. This is a concert venue with style. Attending a Carnegie Hall concert is a marvellous experience, especially if you’re staying in New York for a little bit longer.

Carnegie Hall’s Famous Stars

The greatest names in music history performed in this place. Think of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti to name just a few. It’s not just classical music all over in Carnegie Hall though. It also welcomed renowned jazz artists as Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, giving a strong presence for jazz and blues in New York. The building is even famed for its long line-up of famous ‘pop stars’: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Josephine Baker, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Nat King Cole and – yes, really – Jay Z.

Rose Museum or Guided Tour

The Theatre’s Rose Museum displays many old theatre programmes, as well as photos, videos and many more things. The museum isn’t too big so don’t go nuts if you can’t see it, but if you’re there any way you might just as well have a look. These guided tours are organised a few times a day and you might even be allowed to go backstage. This depends on the rehearsals and performances though. In any case, the guides have lots of information to share with you and the tour lasts an hour. Be aware that you’re not allowed to take pictures and there won’t be any tours outside the season between July and September. The museum will then be closed.

Carnegie Hall Midtown

Carnegie Hall is situated in Midtown, just below Central Park. You’ll have lots of restaurants to choose from, making sure you won’t go hungry during the concert. I highly recommend Trattoria Dell’Arte. This Italian place is right across the music hall and fully understands what its customers want: a welcoming atmosphere and delicious food. Another favourite, perfectly complementing a visit to the concert hall, is the Russian Tea Room. Once you step inside, you feel like you’ve travelled back in time, bursting straight into the Roaring Twenties.

How do I get to Carnegie Hall?

Rumour is that a pedestrian asked violin player Jascha Heifetz: ‘Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?’ To which Heifetz answered: ‘Practice, practice, practice!’ For those with less lofty ambitions, it’s easiest to go by subway. Take any of these lines:       

• A, C, B, D, or 1 to 59th Street / Columbus Circle
• N, Q, R to 57th Street / Seventh Avenue
• B, D, E to Seventh Avenue
• F to 57th Street / Sixth Avenue

You can also go by bus: M5, M7, M10, M20, M31, M57 and M104 all stop nearby. Hop on Hop off buses make stops close by.

Carnegie Hall Tickets

Planning to attend a performance at Carnegie Hall? Buying tickets for Carnegie Hall is simple but do make sure to book on time! The world’s greatest artists perform at this prestigious venue. It’s hard to indicate a ticket price since this depends on the type of performance and the seat. Carnegie Hall’s schedule includes everything from orchestras to pianists, from classical singers to soul and jazz.

Book tickets for Carnegie Hall concerts here