Music of New York City - Institutions and Venues

Institutions and Venues

New York has been a center for the American music industry since the earliest records in the early 20th century. Since then, a number of companies and organizations have set up headquarters in New York, from the Tin Pan Alley publishers and Broadway to modern independent rock and hip hop labels, non-profit organizations and others. Many music magazines are headquartered in New York, including Blender, Punk, Spin and Rolling Stone.

Carnegie Hall is one of the most important music venues in the world, especially for classical music; the Hall is noted for its excellent acoustics. The venue was named for philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, but fell into disrepair in the 20th century until being renovated between 1983 and 1995. Radio City Music Hall was also a major venue after opening 1932, and was also recently renovated; it is now a significant architectural attraction as an example of the Art Deco style.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is the largest performing arts center in the world and the Center is home to twelve resident organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Chamber Music Society, New York City Opera, Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. The New York Philharmonic, which performs at Avery Fisher Hall, is the oldest orchestra in the United States, founded in 1842. As of 2005, Lorin Maazel is the conductor. The Philharmonic has made more than 500 recordings since 1917, and was one of the first to broadcast live performances, beginning in 1922. The New York Philharmonic produced celebrated composers such as George Bristow and Theodore Thomas; Bristow was a fiercely nationalistic composer who left the Philharmonic because he felt it did not glorify American music adequately, a situation he, and later Thomas, attempted to rectify.

Other institutions and organizations in New York include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City Ballet and the Jazz Foundation of America. Notable venues that have closed include the Aeolian Hall of Rhapsody in Blue fame and the old Metropolitan Opera (demolished 1967) at 1411 Broadway. The Apollo Theater has long been a place for African American performers to begin their careers; it has such an iconic status that Congress has declared it a national landmark.