The New York Philharmonic announced today that it will not perform in the summer of 2020 in order to protect its audience, musicians, and employees from COVID-19. This affects the concerts in the parks; the performances in China as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership; and the residency at Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Colorado. The Philharmonic plans to resume all three annual appearances in the summer of 2021.
June would have marked the New York Philharmonic’s 55th season of free concerts in the parks in all five New York City boroughs: Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx; the Great Lawn in Central Park, Manhattan; Cunningham Park, Queens; Prospect Park, Brooklyn; and the St. George Theatre in Staten Island. The New York Philharmonic is grateful to Didi and Oscar Schafer and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs for their longtime support of the concerts in the parks.
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On March 23rd, the New York Philharmonic launched NY Phil Plays On, a portal for free digital content to provide comfort and connection to millions of classical music fans worldwide. The portal includes full concert broadcasts; musicians performing and collaborating from afar in the We Are NY Phil @ Home series; episodes of the award-winning radio program The New York Philharmonic This Week, hosted by Alec Baldwin; video of Young People’s Concerts; and highlights from the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives. Many more hours of digital content, including performance footage both past and new, will continue to be released.
