Music venue brings intimate feel to the bustle of the UWS

See Darkroom for more photos of the Upper West Side.

In a city of over 8 million people, a single, intimate connection can be as hard to find as Waldo.

The recently renovated Merkin Concert Hall attempts to produce this rare connection between performer and audience through its relatively small size and relaxed atmosphere.

Joan Jastrebski, Merkin’s director of marketing, argues that Merkin Hall benefits from its “intimacy,” which distinguishes it from its elephantine neighbor, Lincoln Center, to the south. “Coming to Merkin is like, as a critic and at least one performer have put it, hearing great music in a living room where you can really connect with the artists,” she said.

When one feels lost in the enormity of New York City, habitually or for the first time, such a connection can provide a rare and inestimable solace.

Vying for your precious entertainment dollars, Merkin Hall faces stiff local competition, posed by such venerable live music venues as Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, and the Beacon Theater, all just blocks away. Jastrebski insists that “Merkin Hall’s performances can hold their own in a neighborhood filled with world-famous theaters and all manner of cultural offering.” But whether or not Merkin Hall charms is ultimately for viewers to decide.

The Hall exhibits contemporary classical performances in several different ways. The Tuesday Matinees series feature newer, younger talents in classical music. This fall, the performers include the Russian pianist Daria Rabotkina and violist Jennifer Stumm, who have both won the Young Concert Artists Guild Competition, and accordionist Lidia Kaminska, who, Jastrebski said, “is the first and only person in the U.S. to have received a doctorate in accordion performance.”

Merkin Hall’s Broadway Close Up series features several celebrated Broadway composers and lyricists, such as Chita Rivera and David Hyde Pierce. Early in November, nationally acclaimed flute soloist Carol Wincenc will give the world premiere of “Fury of Light” by Jake Heggie, composer of the opera “Dead Man Walking.”

Merkin offers enriching, convenient entertainment at a reasonable price. It is just a few stops from campus on the 1 train, and students can buy half-price rush tickets for some shows with a student ID on the day of the performance. And if the show leaves students dissatisfied, they won’t be stranded­­­—Lincoln Center is only two blocks away.