CARNEGIE HALL’S GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SEASON, 1940-1941

 

Carnegie Hall’s first public concert was performed on May 5, 1891. Fifty years later they featured the man whom the Hall was named for and the person most responsible for bringing the Hall into existence, Andrew Carnegie. 

Here’s what the Golden Anniversary cover of the program looked like, including the musical program of December 3rd, 1940, conducted by Leopold Stokowski. I also notice that my good friend Joe McElligott’s grand uncle, Fire Commissioner John J. McElligott’s “Fire Notice” is included in the program. 

A few years earlier, in 1937, my grandfather Charles F. Hale, a member of the FDNY, received an award for bravery at City Hall. It was handed to him by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Joe’s commissioner uncle, John J. McElligott. It’s a very big city, but at times it’s a very small world. 

ROBERT ANTHONY MACK in “FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL,” DECEMBER 13, 7:30PM

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Robert Mack, Tenor recently performed the role of Bartell D’Arcy in the Irish Repertory Theatre’s production of The Dead, 1904. He has received glorious reviews for his powerful but sweet lyric tenor voice, throughout the US and Europe with Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Budapest Opera, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, The Royal Danish Opera, Opéra Française de New York, Nashville Opera, Opera Carolina, The Springfield Symphony, The Paris Bastille, The Teatro Real in Spain, and has spent several seasons on the roster of The Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Mack has performed on Broadway in Smokey Joe’s Café and 3 Mo’ Tenors. He has been the tenor soloist in The Verdi’s Requiem, and other notable oratorios.
 
I’m thrilled that this extremely talented tenor will be performing in my show “From Carnegie Hall to the Cell,” December 13, 7:30pm.
 
For tickets and info CLICK HERE

BARON FENWICK and CHARLES R. HALE at LEHMAN COLLEGE, DECEMBER 5

 

Join pianist Baron Fenwick and Charles R. Hale, tomorrow, 12/5, 12:30pm, in the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, for another in Charles’s classical music series for college students, “It’s Just Great Music.”

This is a free event.

Thanks to Professor Joseph McElligott for all he does to support the arts and artists.

BARON FENWICK in “FROM CARNEGIE HALL to the CELL,” DECEMBER 13, 7:30PM

Here’s what Columbia Free-Times said about Baron Fenwick, who will be performing in “From Carnegie to the Cell,” 338 West 23rd St, NYC, Dec 13, 7:30pm. 

“Brilliant…. His driving rhythm, virtuosic technique, musical treatment and careful attention to the ensemble were all stunning. Put two or three more years on this young man, and we might well have a major star.” – Columbia Free-Times

Awarded silver medal in the 2019 Sendai International Music Competition, Baron has emerged as a leading pianist of his generation.

At 25 years old, he regularly performs with orchestras around the world, including the Flint Symphony, the South Shore Symphony, the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra and the Sendai Philharmonic, among others. He performed with the Mannes Orchestra after winning the 2018 Mannes Concerto Competition and he recently made his deubt in Carnegie Hall’s “Weill Hall.

For tix and info CLICK HERE

“FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL”: MEET JIIN YANG

Come see “From Carnegie Hall to the Cell” the last in the series “Classically Exposed,” produced by Charles R. Hale Productions and Musical Solis (Seunghee Lee (Sunny)). At the Cell Theatre, December 13, 7:30pm. For tix and info CLICK HERE

Meet one of the performers, Jiin Yang:

Jiin has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras: KBS Symphony Orchestra, Auburn Symphony Orchestra and the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared as a chamber musician in many world renowned venues…NYC’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Cadogan Hall, Paris’ Salle Gaveau, Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, and Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Most recently Jiin performed with Wayne Weng in a show I created called “Connecting the Masters” part of the “Classically Exposed” series at the Cell.

FROM CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL, DECEMBER 13, 2019, 7:30PM

The final show of the 2019 series, “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell,” will be performed at the Cell on December 13, 7:30pm. 

The show, written and created by Charles R. Hale, pays homage to some of Carnegie Hall’s great performers and performances including the music of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, Leonard Bernstein, Fritz Kreisler,  Benny Goodman, Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf and Marian Anderson, John McCormack, Giacomo Puccini, and more. 

We’ve assembled an outstanding group of musicians for the event: Seunghee Lee (Sunny)/clarinet, Baron Fenwick/piano, Robert Mack/vocals, Jiin, Yang/violin and Clare Maloney/vocals.  Charles R. Hale created and narrates the show. 

Tickets, which are $20, and additional information can be purchased by clicking here

“THANK YOU” TO OUR GREAT PERFORMERS

Performers from the series, “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell.”

The first six shows of the series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie to the Cell” were a great success and Seunghee Lee (Sunny) and I are looking forward to the final show of our first season….December 13, titled, “From Carnegie to the Cell.” For tickets and info click here

We’ve worked with and we thank the incredibly talented musicians who performed in the series over the past year: Jiin Yang, Wayne Weng, Matt Baker, Elizabeth Tasch, Clare Maloney, Nicole Zuraitis, Yuri Juarez, Renato Diz, Brandon Ilaw, Mitch Lyon, Ken Kubota, Jonathan Ong, Abby Rojansky, Jonathan Dormand, Dorothy Ro, Pablo Cafici, Emily Daggett Smith, Brendan Spelt, JP Jofre, Michael Katz and Luke Fleming.  

 

FROM CARNEGIE HALL TO THE CELL


Which performances stand out in Carnegie Hall’s storied history? Which famous musicians, singers  and speakers have presented there? What great works have been debuted in one of the most revered music halls in the world? Join Baron Fenwick/piano, Jiin Yang/violin, Clare Maloney/vocals, Robert Anthony Mack/vocals/ theatrical and historian Charles R. Hale at NYC’s Cell Theatre to find out. 

Friday, December 13, 7:30pm. (Please note that the date has changed from the original date of 12/6 to the new date, 12/13.)

For tickets and information CLICK HERE

“FROM BOWS TO BEATS” with EMPIRE WILD at THE CELL…A CHARLES R. HALE PRODUCTIONS/MUSICA SOLIS EVENT

Empire Wild: Brandon Ilaw, Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota

Charles R Hale Productions and Musical Solis are proud to present their next show in the series “Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall the The Cell,” Friday, October 13 at The Cell Theatre in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.  “From Bows to Beats” will feature Empire Wild and its members, cellists Mitch Lyon and Ken Kubota and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Ilaw. The three Juilliard graduates teamed up in 2018 after discovering a shared interest in musical styles far afield from their classical training.  Through original songwriting and imaginative covers they bring virtuosic technique to far reaching genres as well as a passion for musical exploration. 

We had a chance to meet and listen to Empire Wild back in March when they performed at our “sneak preview” of our upcoming shows. They were fabulously exciting and they are enormously gifted musicians.  Not only will you hear great music but you’ll also get an inside look at how young classically trained musicians like these are changing the way we experience music in the modern digital age. 

For tickets, which are $20, and information CLICK HERE

The Cell is located at 338 West 23rd St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. 

“CONNECTING THE MASTERS” at the CELL REVIEW by VINCENT NAUHEIMER

CONNECTING THE MASTERS

Review written by 

Vinnie Nauheimer

 

In the musical “The Music Man,” professor Harold Hill only promised music. In the sixth installment of the series Classically Exposed: From Carnegie Hall to the Cell, co-producer Charles R. Hale promised music…but he and Jiin Yang/violin and Wayne Weng/piano put together a wonderful evening of music and storytelling, an evening that was at once both enchanting and educational.

Co-producers Seunghee (Sunny) Lee and Charles R. Hale with Jiin Yang and Wayne Weng

The evening’s theme centered on classical music, however, the intent was to demonstrate how classical music has influenced and been influenced by different artistic genre, i.e. literature, cinema, poetry, jazz, rock, hip hop and more.  Charles added a special touch, weaving music and history—through spoken word and beautifully timed audio video—and in doing so “Connecting the Masters.”

The show opened with the Toys’ 1966 pop hit “Lover’s Concerto.” The melody, which was originally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, was written by a Bach student, Christian Petzold.  Jiin and Wayne followed with a delightful performance of Petzold’s Minuet in G Major, leaving no doubt of “Lover’s Concerto’s” roots.

When Charles suggested that Radio Head, Sweet Box and even Leo Tolstoy were connected to classical music, audible sounds of wonder arose from the audience. Expounding on this connection, Jiin and Wayne played Bach’s “Air on G String” followed by Sweetbox’s European hip hop hit, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” It was obvious from the opening that Sweetbox’s background music originated with Bach.  

Continuing with the night’s theme, Charles related that the song “Tonight We Love,” a 1941 hit song by Tony Martin, came directly from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 and Frank Sinatra’s 1945 hit “Full Moon and Empty Arms,” directly from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2.  Wayne followed with the very popular main themes from both Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff’s works. Charles presented a recording of another post war song by Perry Como called “Till the End of Time,” which was based on Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise. One of the highlights of the evening was Wayne’s stirring performance of this Chopin work. 

The evening moved from classical music’s influence on pop tunes to the influence of literature on classical music. Perhaps the author whose works have most influenced classical music is William Shakespeare. One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, “Romeo and Juliet,” has spawned several beautiful musical pieces, including a ballet by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Jiin and Wayne performed an emotionally  charged work from the ballet, which is commonly referred to as “Montagues and Capulets.”

Charles’ compelling narration continued. He related how one of the members of the band Radio Head wrote the song “Exit Music” for a 1996 film version of “Romeo and Juliet.”  The audience listened to the opening lines of the song, performed by Radio Head, and then Charles read the remaining lines of the song, creating an interesting and compelling  juxtaposition of music and the spoken word.  

How are jazz, pop and classical music connected? Charles suggested that George Gershwin must have been very familiar with Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata when he, Gershwin, wrote “Summertime,” a jazz standard. Jiin and Wayne then performed Ravel’s Violin Sonata, an evocative and bluesy piece for violin and piano. It was quickly evident that Gershwin was likely influenced by Ravel’s work.

Jiin Yang/violin, Wayne Weng/piano and Charles R. Hale/narrator

The penultimate section of the evening featured classical music and cinema. Music from two films, Dangerous Moonlight and Schindler’s List were presented…an audio version of “Warsaw Concerto” from Dangerous Moonlight, followed by Jiin and Wayne’s performance of the main theme from Schindler’s list. The classical music/cinema section closed out with Jiin’s magnificent solo of a caprice from John Corigliano’s film “Red Violin.”

All good things must end and after Charles read a segment from Leo Tolstoy’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” a passionate story of lust, marriage and music, Jiin and Wayne presented a bravura performance of the “Presto” from Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata.”

Many thanks to Seunhee Lee (Sunny) and Charles R. Hale for producing this magnificent show and for the entire series. With each performance exceeding the previous one, we can only wait for the next one in the state of anticipation. Next up, Empire Wild, October 18, 7:30pm at The Cell. For tickets and information CLICK HERE 

Photos by Vera Maura.