Daily News from New York, New York • 101

ACTIO Ft Li Et A $50 problem is easily canceled Page 2 Monday, December 15, 1986 Guess who won their own hoop tourney? Page 4 DAILY NEWS 1 1 1 li t. nTfTf 1 XI ff i Oil Russian poetry The Donnell Library Center will present a night of contemporary Russian Hi jfi 5 II tt I I I LI WORKMEN put finishing touches on lobby of restored Carnegie Stern and Yo Yo Ma. black-tie concert featuring Isaac twrrrAK.r news Amur gc Hall, which opens tonight with architectural firm of James Stewart Polshek and Partners, along with structural engineer Robert Silman, and the Center for Building Conservations, perservation consultants. The entire restoration was done by the Tishman Construction' Co. of New York.

Contemporaries 'Our company and Carnegie Hall were founded in the same era and we have a special feel for its traditions and meaning," said John L. Tishman, the chairman of the Tishman Realty and Construction Co. "We consider it a privilege to be assigned the responsibilities of managing the construction." Because the hall is a landmark, many construction precautions had to be taken. Lloyd Stark, the project manager, said the renovation was monitored on a daily basis so that if a problem arose it could be remedied immediately. poetry, featuring unofficial Russian poets reading from their own work at 6 this evening at the library, 20 W.

53rd St. The poets scheduled to appear are Luz Aleshkovskii, Aleksandr Glezer, Kenzheev Bakhyt, Mikhail Kreps, Alexsandr Stupnikov, and Aleksei Tsvetkov. Divorce forum A forum on "Jewish Divorce and Civil Law" in New York is scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. tonight at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Building, 42 W. 44th St.

It will be moderated by Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Myriam J. Altman: City Council President Andrew Stein will be a featured speaker. Medieval fest The Ten Ten Players, 1010 Park are presenting a Medieval festival through Sunday at the Park Ave. Christian Church at 85th St. and Park with the miracle play, "The Son of Getron." It is the story of a child of nobility who is abducted.

General admission tickets are $10 and $8 for seniors and students. For information, call 879 7669. Gospel tours Gospel tours of Harlem are being conducted every Sunday by the Holidays in New York tour group. Tours include a stop at a Harlem church service featuring Gospel singing, a visit to a contemporary art studio, and a Sunday brunch of "soul" cuisine. The fee is $25 a person, which includes admission fees and brunch.

Tours meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Coliseum office building, 10 Columbus Circle, 5th St. and Broadway. Reservations are required; call 765-2515. On Parkinson's The American Parkinson's Disease Association will hold its monthly support group meeting at 2:30 p.m.

Sunday in the East Room at the Vanderbilt Y. 224 E. 47th St. Mark Flapan. Ph.

will discuss the experience of living with Parkinson's Disease. By JOAN SHEPARD Mannanan Cultural Affairs EOitor Mayor Koch will cut the ribbon tonight under the sparkling new marquee of Carnegie Hall, officially reopening the country's premier concert hall, which has undergone a $50 million renovation. The four-phase, $50 million restoration of Carnegie Hall began in 1982 with the renovation of the lobby of the Carnegie Recital Hall, a smaller concert hall within the hall. Restoration then proceeded to the exterior shell of the building, and then, last May, the main auditorium on the ground floor was closed and full-scale restoration of the famous, acoustically perfect hall began. Koch will be accompanied tonight, at 6 p.m., by violinist Issac Stern, who is the president of the hall's board of "Since there were no original drawings to work from," Stark said, "we never knew what we might find that would potentially alter our schedule." Close coordination In addition, weekly meet ings were held with the Car negie Hall management and the architect.

And, because of the tight construction schedule, specially designed scaffolding permitted both the restoration craftsman and the construction crew to work simultaneously. But by 7.30 tonight, when the doors open and the glittering audience arrives, including Beverly Sills, Leonard Bernstein, Leon-tyne Price, and U.S. Sen. Daniel Moynihan all of the construction dust will have been swept away and glittering lights will shine on the faces and diamonds of the rich and famous directors, and James Wolfen-shon, the chairman of the board of the Carnegie Hall Corp. Carnegie Hall is both a city and federal landmark.

The restoration of the main hall included the following: Major renovation of the back-stage area, including lowering the back stage's entrance to facilitate the movement of musical instruments. The reconstruction of the stage and the installation of a new lighting and dimmer system. Installation of infrastructure for television, radio, and recording equipment. Doubling the size of the lobby. Providing access for the elderly and disabled.

The installation of new seats, and restoration of ornamental mouldings and architectural detailing. The restoration project was designed by the 17, 1891. "When you breathe the air there, you know it's going to be fresh, because you've reached the pinnacle," noted jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. Tonight's concert before a gala, black-tie crowd will feature guest solists Isaac Stern (who is the president of the board of Carnegie Hall), Yo Yo Ma, Benita Valente, Marilyn Home, Peter Duchin, and Frank Sinatra, with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. Mecca for music Close call for hall in '57 was the work of its owners The very existence of Carnegie Hall was threatened in 1957 when the owners, Robert Simon Sr.

and his son, announced plans to demolish the hall and replace it with an office tower. Violinist Issac Stern immediately mobilized the city's top-drawer cultural forces to save the hall. In 1960, because of Stern's campaign, the State Legislature passed a bill permitting the city to buy the hall and lease it back to the Carnegie Hall a nonprofit organization, for one dollar a year. By 1964, the hall was declared a National Landmark, which meant it could not be demolished. In 1967, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission issued it a local-landmark designation.

Joan Shepard Carnegie Hall is the most prestigious concert hall in the country and maybe the world. "No one will pay attention to you unless you have played, there," said Steven Rich-man, a French horn player with the American Symphony Orchestra, which plays Carnegie Hall several times a year. Tchaikovsky conducted there on Opening Night on May 5, 1891. And a few months later, Ignace Paderewski gave the hall's first recital, on Nov. MU If 'li- 1 ITl IT 1 7 i.