Since 1891 Carnegie Hall had been the most highly regarded concert hall in New York. However, in early 1960 it appeared that Carnegie Hall was slated for demolition by its owners after their contract with the New York Philharmonic expired in 1959 and the orchestra planned to move to Lincoln Center, then under construction. A committee, headed by violinist Isaac Stern, campaigned to save the auditorium, and in April 1960 the New York state legislature authorized the city to purchase the building. It did so, turning it over to a new corporation with Stern as president. Carnegie Hall reopened in September following renovations to the building.

Painting.

Minimalism first appeared in paintings by artists, such as Frank Stella, who rejected the emotional content of abstract expressionism. Instead, such work — called post-painterly abstraction — removed subjects and personality entirely from the picture; the work was not a...