Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

AspireAgain OP t1_iscf30q wrote

Reply to comment by Funmachine in TIL that before Lincoln Center could reward David Geffen's $100 Million donation by renaming "Avery Fisher Hall" to "David Geffen Hall", they had to pay the heirs of Fisher - the original donor - $15 million. Geffen's donation has a provision that requires his name to be on the hall "in perpetuity". by AspireAgain

Lincoln Center is New York City's premier performance space, current home to the New York Philharmonic.

David Geffen is a billionaire who made his fortune in entertainment. Fisher was a millionaire who made his fortune in radio electronics, and an amateur violinist.

Fisher's original donation was made to help improve the sound quality at Lincoln Center, and was never quite successful. Geffen's donation funded a more recent renovation which so far seems to achieve the goal.

149

DasGanon t1_isd6phe wrote

>Fisher was a millionaire who made his fortune in radio electronics, and an amateur violinist. > >Fisher's original donation was made to help improve the sound quality at Lincoln Center, and was never quite successful.

To clarify the brand Fisher was then bought out a couple of times and was owned by Sanyo and now Panasonic (although it's basically a dead brand)

61

Wazzoo1 t1_isd09cl wrote

Avery Fisher was always underwhelming as a concert hall. I've heard good things about the new one. Mainly, my brother, who travels to NYC regularly and always tries to catch a Philharmonic performance.

17

topbuttsteak t1_isf595i wrote

They just opened the newly renovated hall like a week or so ago. I'm going to the concert tonight and I hope to God they've actually fixed the god awful acoustics.

3