Carnegie's Zankel Hall, reborn.

Zankel Hall Opening Festival, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 12-27, 881 7th Ave. (57th St.), 212-247-7800.

With the public unveiling of the 644-seat Zankel Hall on Friday, Carnegie Hall is cementing its status as the premier concert space in New York City for another century. Foregoing the rococo style and gilded interiors of Isaac Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall, Zankel is characterized by a smooth, simple design finished in cream-colored plaster, mohair fabric and light wood tones, bestowing upon the hall a natural Carnegie elegance, while wholly asserting its modernity.

The "new hall" is actually an extreme restoration of a space that was part of Andrew Carnegie's original plan. (Indeed, the complex's first public concert?a piano recital by Franz Rommel?was held there in 1891.) Its days as a concert hall were cut short when in 1896 the stage was reclaimed for a variety of nonmusical activities, primarily theater and film. After a century of alternative uses, Judith Aaron and Isaac Stern led a movement in 1997 to restore the space to a music hall.

With support from Arthur and Judy Zankel and the City and State of New York, the new hall was born, greatly expanding Carnegie's programming options. Wired with the most up-to-date recording and audiovisual systems and able to undergo one of four reconfigurations of seats and stage, Zankel seems to shine brightest when challenged by new works. The sleek, hip interior gives contemporary music a place to be performed without suffering under the weight of anachronism.

Where else at Carnegie would Steve Reich's Tehellim or Senegalese musician Youssou N'dour's hyperactive showmanship work? The main hall would swallow the personality, while Weill would be too delicate for such intensity. And jazz? Let's face it, no matter how good it is, jazz has always felt a little weird in the chandeliered, bourgeois halls built in an era when jazz didn't even exist. Performances by the Kenny Barron Quartet, the Brad Mehldau Trio and Bill Frissell during the opening two-week festival may finally make a place for jazz in this institution.

Whether it's jazz or chamber music or world music, the keystone to programming at Zankel is living music. While trips to Weill and Isaac Stern Auditorium inevitably lead to daydreams about the glorious past, Zankel promises more adventure. Descending several floors into the bowels of the building, the stage is literally and figuratively the most underground space, and this newest addition to the Carnegie family certainly boasts the rebelliousness of youth.

During the opening festival, curated by composer John Adams, one can hear works by American maverick composers Charles Ives and Lou Harrison, while the incomparable Theatre of Voices under the direction of Paul Hillier presents a program that spans eight centuries of repertoire, including the local premiere of Ingram Marshall's haunting settings of old American hymns, Hymnodic Delays.

There's also Meredith Monk and her vocal ensemble, and Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain offer something for those who like their music severe and complex. For those with an ear for the exotic, the opening festival also features music from Senegal, the Andes, Morocco and Latin America. Of course, Mozart, Haydn and Bach make appearances in programs by the Emerson Quartet (with Emanuel Ax), Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Met Chamber Ensemble. Keep in mind that these acts only represent a small portion of the opening festival, and the festival itself is merely a taste of what's in store for the season, making Zankel Hall further evidence that New York is most musically diverse city in the world.