The Morgan Library & Museum - Gilder Lehrman Hall

Musical performance at the Morgan Library & Museum’s Gilder Lehrman Hall mirrors the intimacy and scale of the museum itself. The 264 seat hall, designed by Renzo Piano and inaugurated in April 2006, is ideally suited to the chamber ensemble, the solo instrumentalist, and to small vocal groups. The setting engenders a close relationship between performer and audience that is unusual in today’s concert scene dominated by large venues.

A unique aspect of the programming is its connection to the Morgan’s superb collection of music manuscripts and printed music, and its exhibitions. Many concerts include works whose original compositions are owned by or are on deposit at the Morgan. During the concert season these manuscripts — such as Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Mahler, Mozart, Clara Schumann, Stravinsky, Amy Beach, and Philip Glass, among others — will often be displayed outside the hall, offering concert-goers the rare opportunity to see the original work they will hear that evening. Concerts include both renowned and exceptional young artists performing programs of early music to contemporary works. The Morgan produces many of its own programs and collaborates with various performing arts organizations.

Among the pianists who performed at the Morgan throughout the years are Claude Frank, George Li, Ursula Oppens, Vassily Primakov, Jenny Lin, Craig Rutenberg, Louis Schwizgebel-Wang, Peter Nagy, Gleb Ivanov and Ji, to name a few.