Carnegie Hall Commemorates Benny Goodman’s Hall Debut

By I Mar. 13, 2008

Carnegie Hall in New York will commemorate the 70th anniversary of clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman’s January 1938 Carnegie Hall debut with a free exhibit in the Hall’s Rose Museum. The exhibit, which salutes the “King of Swing” with highlights from his 44-year association with Carnegie Hall, opens on April 16 and runs until June 30.

The exhibit includes flyers, original programs, photographs and concert footage as well as Goodman’s Buffet clarinet, the instrument that he was actively using until the time of his death in June 1986. The clarinet, donated by Goodman’s daughters Rachel Edelson and Benjie Lasseau, was the first donation made to Carnegie Hall’s Archives and Rose Museum in 1988, becoming the Museum’s symbolic cornerstone.

Items on display from Goodman’s 1938 debut performance include the only known intact ticket from the concert as well as concert program, sheet music and photographs. Film footage taken during the 1938 concert will be shown on two screens in the Rose Museum.

More info: carnegiehall.org