Marian Anderson

Contralto

Marian Anderson had a more than 70-year association with Carnegie Hall. Following her debut at the Hall in 1920, she appeared more than 50 times until the mid-1970s. In 1960, she became one of the original board members of The Carnegie Hall Corporation when the Hall was saved from demolition. She remained on the board until her death in 1993.

“
It is easy to look back, self-indulgently, feeling pleasantly sorry for oneself and saying I didn’t have this and I didn’t have that. But it is only the grown woman regretting the hardships of a little girl who never thought they were hardships at all. She had the things that really mattered.
— MARIAN ANDERSON

From the Archives

Signed program from Marian Anderson’s Carnegie Hall recital debut, 1928
Signed program from Anderson’s Carnegie Hall recital debut, 1928 (Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Archives)
Marian Anderson concert flyer, 1943
Concert flyer, 1943 (Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Archives)
Marian Anderson and Franz Rupp on stage at Carnegie Hall, 1955
Anderson on stage at Carnegie Hall, 1955 (Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Archives)
Marian Anderson with pianist Franz Rupp after her final Carnegie Hall recital, 1965
Anderson with pianist Franz Rupp after her final Carnegie Hall recital, 1965 (Courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Archives)

Marian Anderson at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall’s performance history database covers more than 50,000 concerts and events that occurred at Carnegie Hall from its opening in 1891 to the present. Explore events related to Marian Anderson (these links will open in a new tab with the performance history search tools):

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Listen to Marian Anderson

Celebrate Marian Anderson’s remarkable career and long association with Carnegie Hall in this playlist. Be uplifted by the legendary contralto singing spirituals and Schubert songs, plus arias by Bach and Handel. Marian Anderson is a Carnegie Hall Icon—listen to hear why. Listen on Apple Music and Spotify.

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