It was the Gala of the Century when Carnegie Hall celebrated the 50th anniversary of its “Concert of the Century” with a once-in-a-lifetime convening of musical all-stars on May 5.
Organized by famed violinist Isaac Stern, the original 1976 event brought together some of the world’s greatest musicians for a now-legendary “concert-celebration” that commemorated the anniversary of the Hall’s opening on May 5, 1891. Fifty years later—and 135 years after the opening of the Hall—a new lineup of Carnegie Hall icons came together to honor the Hall’s legacy, telling its story to a new generation.
Elizabeth Segerstrom of Newport Beach was the Gala Lead Chair for the black-tie evening. Robert F. Smith, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall, shared “Elizabeth Segerstrom has been a dedicated supporter, champion, and friend of Carnegie Hall for almost two decades. We were so fortunate and grateful to have her lead this event tonight to carry on her late husband Henry’s legacy for our Hall. What we experience at Carnegie Hall—what so many have experienced here over the years—is the depth of expression, the connection to history, the nuance, the storytelling. It is not simply a feat of the technical; it is the triumph of the human spirit. The connection we feel in this hall reminds us of the importance of sharing moments that renew and inspire us. Through art, we develop a deeper understanding of our place in the universe and what it truly means to be human. That is the power of this institution, and that is why the support in this room matters so profoundly for generations to come.”
Gala Chairs included Anya Gillinson, Ila and Dinesh Paliwal, and Hope and Robert F. Smith. Gala Co-Chairs were Marco Argenti and Nanyan Li, Mercedes T. Bass, Sandra Segerstrom Daniels, and Joan and Sanford I. Weill, Weill Family Foundation.
South Coast Plaza was the Gala Sponsor.
The gala evening benefited Carnegie Hall’s artistic, education, and social impact programs and included a pre-concert cocktail party in Carnegie Hall’s Rohatyn Room and post-concert dinner at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
Among the Orange County VIPs who travelled to New York to attend the event were Jane Fujishige Yada; Britt Meyer; Jaynine Warner; Casey Reitz, President and CEO of Segerstrom Center for the Arts; Tommy Phillips, President and Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County; Chase McLaughlin, Director, South Coast Plaza Towers; and Tenley Zinke, Executive Director of Marketing, South Coast Plaza.
The gala raised $3.5 million in support of Carnegie Hall’s artistic, education and social impact programs.
The 600 guests included Katie Holmes, Liev Schreiber and Taylor Neisen, Constance Wu, Victoria and Michael Imperioli, Candace Bushnell, Lou Diamond Phillips, Colleen and Gary Rein, Maria Manetti Shrem, Daniil Simkin, Dana and Robert Kraft, Barbara Tober, Marilyn Minter, Famke Janssen, Ellen Burstyn, Kehinde Wiley, and more.
Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the NYO-USA All-Stars, an ensemble of distinguished alumni from Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, who are now outstanding young professionals in the music field.
The program opened with the overture to Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” premiered at the Hall in 1957 by the New York Philharmonic under the composer’s baton. It continued with the third movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6—honoring the composer who led Carnegie Hall’s inaugural concert in 1891—and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Laudate Dominum, featuring soprano Renée Fleming, also the evening’s host, with the orchestra and the Oratorio Society of New York, the same chorus for which Carnegie Hall was originally designed and built.
Highlights of this special program also included mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato joining pianist Emanuel Ax for two of Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder; the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Lang Lang; mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard singing Non più mesta accanto al fuoco from Rossini’s La Cenerentola; and the third movement of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with pianist Daniil Trifonov.
Vocalist Audra McDonald partnered with longtime music director Andy Einhorn for songs by Ellington and Gershwin. Vocalist and pianist Michael Feinstein collaborated with the orchestra on songs by Michel Legrand and Arthur Schwartz. The program also featured Valerie Coleman’s “Seven O’Clock Shout” and Bernstein’s inspiring “Make Our Garden Grow” from “Candide.”
