“Carnegie Hall announced on Wednesday that it was renaming its first level of boxes the Blavatnik Family First Tier in recognition of a $25 million gift from Len Blavatnik, a trustee there since 2014, and his family foundation,” writes Michael Cooper in Thursday’s (6/23) New York Times. “The hall, whose goal was to raise $125 million to support its artistic, educational and digital initiatives by May, when it celebrated its 125th anniversary, extended its fund-raising timeline to the end of next June. Mr. Blavatnik, the founder and chairman of Access Industries, a privately held group, stepped in with a new lead gift of $25 million, bringing the tally to $55 million…. The first tier—home of 33 boxes with small anterooms—will bear the Blavatnik name for 50 years. The new name will be unveiled Oct. 6 on opening night, when some patrons will be able to sit in the Blavatnik Family First Tier and watch Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela down below, on the Ronald O. Perelman Stage.”
Posted June 23, 2016
