By midafternoon, the carpets had not been tacked, some of the seats were not bolted down, the stair railings were still being sanded. Six hours later, after some 800 hired limousines had converged on the area, braying their way through the clogged streets. New York Philharmonic Conductor Leonard Bernstein mounted the podium, bowed to the audience and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, and set the hall ablaze with sound. There would be better nights of music at Philharmonic Hall—the opening night's program was more an acoustical than an artistic success—but there would be no...
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