A piano sits on a bare stage in an empty Carnegie Hall in 1990. When Carnegie Hall held its first concert on May 5, 1891, The New York Times reported that the Manhattan music hall was "a present to the music lovers from one of their number, Andrew Carnegie."

The headlines were positive, yet restrained. One read, "It Stood the Test Well." Another said, "Its Acoustic Properties Found to Be Adequate." But as The TImes reported in 1986, on that May evening, Carnegie Hall was home to the first American performance of Berlioz's "Te Deum" as well as Tchaikovsky's American debut, during which he conducted several short pieces. What had occurred in this hall, which went on to become known for its history, was "more than a negligible chunk of musical history already - and all on opening night!"