NEW YORK, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Clive Gillinson, veteran managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra, has been chosen artistic director of New York's Carnegie Hall.
Sanford I. Weill, chairman of Carnegie Hall's board of trustees, announced Gillinson's selection Thursday, with the five-year contract taking effect next July 1, the New York Times reported Friday.
Gillinson fills the vacancy left by Robert J. Harth, who ran the hall from September 2001 until his death, at age 47, on Jan. 30.
Gillinson has been with the London Symphony Orchestra for 34 years, 14 years as a cellist in the orchestra and the remaining two decades as managing director.
"I genuinely believe that the directorship at Carnegie Hall is the best job in music in the world. In that sense, it was an easy decision," Gillinson, 58, said.
"The difficult part is that, having been 34 years at the LSO, it has meant a huge mental leap. When you have committed yourself for so long to one job ... it can be emotionally difficult," he said.
Gillinson will take the Carnegie Hall helm next summer immediately after the London Symphony ends its season-long centennial celebration, the Times said.
