NY Philharmonic gives 1st concert with audience in 13 months
April 15, 2021 Ronald Blum, Associated Press
Esa-Pekka Salonen, center, music director of the San Francisco Symphony and principal conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra, leads the New York Philharmonic before an audience of 150 concertgoers at The Shed in Hudson Yards, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, in New York. It was the first time since March 10, 2020, that the entire orchestra performed together in front of a live audience. AP Photo/Kathy Willens
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Esa-Pekka Salonen walked on stage to join the New York Philharmonic, which had not gathered before an audience for exactly 400 days.
“On behalf of all us on stage, welcome back,” the conductor told the crowd Wednesday night. “We have been dreaming of this moment for a long time.”
The philharmonic gave its first public performance after a historic hiatus of more than 13 months caused by the coronavirus pandemic, playing at the Shed in Hudson Yards, about 2 miles from its under-renovation Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
“I’m kind of on a euphoric high right now, because I missed it more than I realized,” concertmaster Frank Huang said afterwards.