Ulmer made Carnegie Hall with the help of conductor Fritz Reiner, godfather of the Ulmers' daughter, Arianné. The New York City concert venue Carnegie Hall serves as the film's setting for the plot and performances presented. A tribute to classical music and Carnegie Hall, the film features appearances by some of the prominent music figures of 20th century performing within the legendary concert hall. Based on a story by silent movie actress Seena Owen, Carnegie Hall follows the life of Irish immigrant Nora Ryan who arrives in America just as the grand concert hall is christened in 1891, and whose life is intertwined with the performers, conductors, aspiring artists and humble employees who call it home. The plot serves as a thread to connect the music performances.
Carnegie hall 1947 heifetz piatigorsky rubinstein reiner walter
Cast
Marsha Hunt as Nora Ryan
William Prince as Tony Salerno Jr.
Frank McHugh as John Donovan
Martha O'Driscoll as Ruth Hainess
Hans Jaray as Tony Salerno Sr.
Alfonso D'Artega as Tchaikovsky
Cloris Leachman as Dancing Nightclub Patron – Vaughn Monroe sequence (uncredited)
Barbara Woodell as Nellie – Irish Charwoman (uncredited)
Music guests
Walter Damrosch (conductor)
Olin Downes (music critic)
Jascha Heifetz (violinist)
Harry James (trumpeter)
Vaughn Monroe (band leader)
Jan Peerce (vocalist)
Gregor Piatigorsky (cellist)
Ezio Pinza (vocalist)
Lily Pons (vocalist)
Fritz Reiner (conductor)
Artur Rodziński (conductor)
Arthur Rubinstein (pianist)
Risë Stevens (vocalist)
Leopold Stokowski (conductor)
Bruno Walter (conductor)
New York Philharmonic Quintet (John Corigliano Sr., William Lincer, Nadia Reisenberg, Leonard Rose, Michael Rosenker)
Music
Richard Wagner – Prelude from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, conductor
Sergei Rachmaninoff – "Vocalise" – sung by Lily Pons
Léo Delibes – "Bell Song" from opera Lakmé – sung by Lily Pons
Camille Saint-Saëns – "The Swan" from The Carnival of the Animals – Gregor Piatigorsky, cello
Georges Bizet – "Seguidilla" from Carmen – sung by Risë Stevens (mezzo-soprano)
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 (excerpts) – New York Philharmonic, Artur Rodziński, conductor
Frédéric Chopin – Polonaise héroïque – Arthur Rubinstein, piano
Manuel de Falla – "Ritual Fire Dance" – Arthur Rubinstein, piano
Eduardo di Capua – "’O sole mio" – sung by Jan Peerce (tenor)
Giuseppe Verdi – "Il lacerato spirito" from Simon Boccanegra – sung Ezio Pinza (bass)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – "Fin ch'han dal vino" from Don Giovanni- sung Ezio Pinza (bass)
Sam Coslow – "Beware, My Heart" – sung by Vaughn Monroe
Frank L. Ryerson/Wilton Moore – "The Pleasure's All Mine" – sung by Vaughn Monroe
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto in D major, first movement – New York Philharmonic, Fritz Reiner, conductor, Jasha Heifetz, violin
Peter Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5, second movement – New York Philharmonic, Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Hal Borne – "Brown Danube" – sung by Harry James
Léo Delibes – "Ah!... Par les dieux inspirés ... Où va la jeune indoue" from opera Lakmé – sung by Lily Pons
Camille Saint-Saëns – "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from opera Samson et Dalila – sung by Risë Stevens (mezzo-soprano)
Mischa Portnoff – The 57th Street Rhapsody (composed for this film) – pianist uncertain; Portnoff's hands are filmed playing the climactic piece.
Plot
A mother (Marsha Hunt) wants her son (William Prince) to grow up to be a pianist good enough to play at Carnegie Hall. The son would prefer to play jazz with Vaughan Monroe's orchestra. But Mama's wishes prevail and the son appears at Carnegie Hall as the composer-conductor-pianist of a modern trumpet concerto, with Harry James as the soloist.
