50th Anniversary of the Concert of the Century

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May 5, 2026

About this episode

The episode celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Concert of the Century at Carnegie Hall, featuring a lineup of renowned musicians.

This broadcast will air on May 5, 2026 at 7pm EDT. Program notes courtesy of Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall celebrates its “Concert of the Century” with another once-in-a-lifetime convening of all-stars. Organized 50 years ago by Isaac Stern, the original 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 makes music history of its own, performing a program that tells the Hall’s story for a new generation. Featured artists include Emanuel Ax, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Feinstein, Renée Fleming, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Isabel Leonard, Audra McDonald, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Daniil Trifonov with the NYO-USA All-Stars, Oratorio Society of New York, and more.Complete this glamorous evening with gala tickets that include the best possible concert seating and your choice of a pre-concert cocktail party; a post-concert, black-tie gala dinner; or both! This gala evening supports our artistic, education, and social impact programs. This broadcast is hosted by Jeff…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeff Spurgeon, John Schaefer

Guests: Emanuel Ax, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Feinstein, Renée Fleming, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Isabel Leonard, Audra McDonald, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniil Trifonov

Topics covered

anniversary
classical music
live performance
Carnegie Hall
celebration
musical history

Keywords

Concert of the Century
Carnegie Hall
50th anniversary
classical music
live concert
musicians
gala event

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Carnegie Hall

Places: Carnegie Hall