Carnegie Hall’s Robert Harth was the right director at the right time. He “fostered collegiality, demystified the director’s post and continued with the Carnegie Hall mission: to present the great artists and ensembles of the world, both fledglings and masters; to devise educational offerings; to bring music students to the institution for training workshops; and especially to commission and perform new works. His attitude toward contemporary music was refreshingly free of agenda. Living composers were not some special cause or somber obligation. Rather, it was only natural for anyone interested in the great heritage of classical music to be curious about what’s going on today.”