When the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra reopens Powell Symphony Hall this weekend, it won’t just be cutting a ribbon — it will be turning the page on a story more than 50 years in the making. And as we look ahead to the hall’s future, it’s worth pausing to remember its past, especially the part the St. Louis Jewish community played in saving it. Powell Hall has been the city’s cultural anchor for decades, but that nearly wasn’t the case. Without the vision and determination of two Jewish civic leaders, Stanley J. Goodman and Lee M. Liberman, the building might have been torn down and lost to history. Instead, they turned a fading movie palace into one of America’s great concert halls — and now, after a full restoration, Powell is ready to begin its next act.
The rescue that changed St. Louis music
By the mid-1960s, Powell Hall was a worn-out movie house more associated with popcorn than Prokofiev. The St. Louis Symphony had been a musical nomad for decades, performing in borrowed spaces. Goodman, a lifelong supporter of the arts, and Liberman, a community leader with a gift for rallying support, spearheaded the campaign to purchase and renovate Powell.
ADVERTISEMENT
Their leadership didn’t just preserve a building — it gave the symphony its first permanent home and helped elevate its profile nationally. In 1968, the orchestra moved in, and the Grand Center neighborhood began to transform into the arts hub St. Louis knows today.
Leonard Slatkin and the power of “Kaddish”
Powell Hall has been home to some unforgettable performances, many of them led by Leonard Slatkin, the son of two Jewish musicians and himself proudly Jewish. The conductor laureate of the St. Louis Symphony has called Powell one of the most important places in his career. He has returned time and again to conduct concerts that stay with audiences — including Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, the “Kaddish Symphony.”
The massive work, scored for full orchestra, chorus, and narrator, is a searching conversation with God that swings between hope and despair. Slatkin has said the piece is less about the prayer itself and more about coming to terms with a God who sometimes feels absent.
Jewish voices on stage
Powell has also been a stage for Jewish performers and composers whose music brought global stories to St. Louis. In 1997, Itzhak Perlman gave a concert that paired klezmer with the symphonic repertoire, proving that Jewish folk traditions belonged on the grandest stage.
ADVERTISEMENT
The hall has echoed with music by Soviet Jewish composers such as Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Alfred Schnittke, whose works were championed by the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich — himself a symbol of artistic courage. These moments are reminders that Powell has always been more than a concert hall; it’s a space where music gives voice to history, identity, and resilience.
What comes next
The renovation has brought better acoustics, new seating, and modern amenities, but the heart of Powell Hall remains the same. It’s still the house Goodman and Liberman fought to save, still the place where Slatkin can raise his baton and make Bernstein’s “Kaddish” ring out, and still the hall where St. Louis comes together to feel something bigger than itself. The next chapter begins now — and if history is any guide, Powell Hall will continue to challenge, comfort, and inspire for generations to come.
Opening weekend calendar
Fanfare for Powell Hall — Season opener with Joyce DiDonato; Strauss “Ein Heldenleben”
• Fri, Sept. 26, 2025 – 10:30 a.m.
• Sat, Sept. 27, 2025 – 7:30 p.m.
• Sun, Sept. 28, 2025 – 3 p.m.
Know before you go: The Powell Hall box office is open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Friday. Parking is available in the Grand Center Arts District lots, and tickets are available online at slso.org.
