A rendering of the New York Philharmonic’s soon-to-be opened concert space at Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall, to be named Wu Tsai Theater after donors Joseph Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai. Image: Diamond Schmitt
“In late 2020, as coronavirus infections surged and cultural institutions shuttered, the fate of the long-delayed renovation of David Geffen Hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic, was uncertain,” writes Javier C. Hernández in Wednesday’s (8/3) New York Times. “Then came a $50 million gift from Joseph Tsai, a Taiwanese-born billionaire co-founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and his wife, Clara Wu Tsai, a philanthropist. The donation moved the project forward … so the hall could reopen … ahead of schedule…. Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic announced on Wednesday that the main auditorium in the hall would be named the Wu Tsai Theater…. Joseph Tsai … is the primary owner of the Brooklyn Nets…. Clara Wu Tsai, who is also a member of Lincoln Center’s board, said … that she and her husband were moved by the opportunity to create jobs for New Yorkers and help make the performing arts more accessible. Also being named for the Tsais: a concert series aimed at increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the arts…. The hall is set to reopen on Oct. 7, with a concert … before an audience of emergency medical workers and construction workers who took part in the hall’s renovation.”
