The Claremont Trio at the Gardner Museum

Boston has a new artistic landmark. The new wing of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opens its doors, and Classical New England celebrates this exciting new space.

To hear the inaugural concert, with a world premiere by Sean Shepherd as well as music by Mozart and Mendelssohn, all performed by the Claremont Trio, click on "Listen" above.

The Gardner Museum has held a prominent, if iconoclastic, position in Boston's arts firmament since its first days over a century ago. Music, valued by Mrs. Gardner throughout her life, has also played a vital role in the museum's life.

Now, with the opening of the Calderwood Performance Hall, that commitment to music as a vital form of artistic expression finds new life at the Gardner. Designed, along with the rest of the new wing, by Renzo Piano, with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota, Calderwood is a performance space like no other. Arranged in a cube with four levels of audience seating, there is no obvious up- or down-stage, giving musicians and listeners alike a new perspective in experiencing concerts.









Here is a slideshow of a few views of the new wing of the Gardner Museum: