With concert halls shut, NY Philharmonic takes to sidewalk
NEW YORK (AP) – With performance halls shut because of the coronavirus pandemic, the best concert venue a violinist could hope for one recent October Friday was a sidewalk in the Bronx.
Fiona Simon tuned her instrument as she prepared for one of her only public performances with the New York Philharmonic in months.
The setting was a far cry from the orchestra’s usual home at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center. Traffic hummed and sirens wailed as a crew laid cables and unloaded speakers from the back of a double-parked pickup truck.
But Simon said the pop-up concert – one of several the Philharmonic has been playing around the city this fall – filled a need she’s had since indoor performances stopped in March, depriving musicians of not just a paycheck, but a sense of purpose.
“You’re not a complete musician if you’re just playing for yourself,” Simon said.