A Season of International Stylings Begins at Carnegie Hall
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Carnegie Hall’s 117th season opened last night in a freshly painted proscenium hall filled with anticipation for both the short and the long term.
In the moment, there was the North American debut of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 9 under conductor David Robertson, the music director of the Saint Louis Orchestra, who was brought in to substitute for the ailing director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado.
Bolstering the evening’s enthusiasm was excitement over a new season that would bear the stamp of artistic and executive director Clive Gillinson, who took the post two years ago. “This is the most exciting time of my life,” Mr. Gillinson said, singling out Carnegie Hall’s first international festival, “Berlin in Lights,” which starts November 2.
The buzz of the cocktail hour before the concert was how the 49-year-old Mr. Robertson, who regularly conducts in New York but with whom New York concertgoers have yet to fall in love, would do. Just 100 feet away from the reception, Mr. Robertson made his final preparations in the Maestro’s Suite, which Mr. Gillinson visited moments before the conductor was to take the podium.
“He’s very excited, it’s a big deal,” Mr. Gillinson said of Mr. Robertson.
The chairman of Carnegie Hall, Sanford Weill, who has attended more than 25 opening nights there, said this season was indeed special. “Clive has unbelievable energy, and Carnegie Hall is going to be a place that makes our community proud,” Mr. Weill said.
Asked how he manages to keep so many patrons involved and supportive — the gala last night had 600 guests and raised more than $2.7 million, with sponsorship provided by PriceWaterhouse Coopers — Mr. Weill said, “I lead by example. The secret is caring, being passionate about our mission.”
Mr. Weill is looking forward to being at Carnegie Hall even more often than usual in the future. He and his wife, Joan, are moving to the new Robert A.M. Stern building at 15 Central Park West.
The faces in the crowd were mostly familiar to Mr. Weill. “It’s a big family here, it’s a very relaxed and collegial environment,” he said before turning to greet the wife of a vice chairman of the Carnegie Hall board, Karin Jacobs, who wore a bright orange floor-length gown. “Thank you for the colors,” Mr. Weill told her.
Mr. Weill also dispensed hellos, thank-yous, and sartorial compliments to the city’s commissioner of cultural affairs, Kate Levin, Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer, Susan and Elihu Rose, Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond, Philippe de Montebello, and Kati Marton and her daughter Elizabeth Jennings, who was attending her first Carnegie Hall opening night.
In addition to “Berlin in Lights,” a 17-day citywide festival celebrating Berlin that will take place in conjunction with several other cultural institutions and venues, Mr .Gillinsonds season of more than 200 events, sponsored by Bank of America, includes concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Veering from the traditional symphonic format, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Takács Quartet will perform a program of words and music inspired by Philip Roth’s 2006 novel “Everyman” on October 23.
Zankel Hall’s schedule includes appearances by the Cowboy Junkies, Dar Williams, Joan Osborne, and Josh Rouse.
After the concert, guests went to the Waldorf-Astoria for supper, where the buzz of music lovers filled the Grand Ballroom.
“There isn’t anything else in the world like opening night,” Mr. Gillinson said.