Carnegie Hall is recognized worldwide and associated with the heights of artistic achievement and with a multitude of famous performers. Yet its beginnings are not so well known. In 1887, a chance encounter on a steamship bound for Europe brought young conductor Walter Damrosch together with millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and his new wife, Louise. Their subsequent friendship led to the building of this groundbreaking concert space. This book provides the first comprehensive account of the conception and building of Carnegie Hall, which culminated in a five-day opening festival in May 1891, featuring spectacular music and by a host of performers including Tchaikovsky.

Ragtime composer Joseph F. Lamb (1887-1960) lived in a musical time that ranged from the Victorian era through Tin Pan Alley to modern times. Although Lamb is considered one of classic ragtime's ""big three""--along with Scott Joplin and James Scott--he did not fit the usual profile. He was musically self-taught, held a corporate job, and composed in his spare time, yet wrote piano rags Joplin enthusiastically championed and returned to composing and well deserved recognition long after the end of the ragtime era. This is the story of his life, his music, and his world, drawn from family and research sources. Includes a foreword by two of Lamb's children.