NY Philharmonic Cancels Season, Plays Along City Streets

The New York Philharmonic made the historic¹ decision this week to cancel its entire performance season.

The president of the famed symphony² orchestra³ Deborah Borda said on Tuesday that it had lost a combined $30 million in ticket sales for this season and next. The orchestra's total budget for the 2019-2020 season is $87 million.

Borda said the company raised more money than expected from individual donors⁴. But that money, "cannot make up for those massive⁵ amounts of lost ticket revenue⁶," she said.

"Because we live on earned ticket revenue."

The New York Philharmonic is the oldest orchestra in the United States at 178 years old. It is part of the country's so-called "big five" symphonies⁷. It has continued its performance seasons through crises⁸ including the Civil War, Great Depression, the September 11th terror attacks and even other disease outbreaks.

But the spread of the new coronavirus, and restrictions⁹ related to it, has brought the organization to its breaking point.

The full Philharmonic has not performed since March 10. It announced on June 10 that it had canceled the autumn part of the 2020-21 season and would restart normal performances in early January.

About seventy Philharmonic support employees have lost their jobs. Orchestra musicians have seen pay cuts of 25 percent.

Some have continued to perform in less formal settings.

At the end of August, the orchestra launched NY Phil Bandwagon, a series of socially-distanced outdoor performances.

The bandwagon itself is a bright red Ford¹⁰ truck. It holds a sound system, music stands, lights and an operations crew. The musicians follow it in another vehicle.

Fiona Simon plays the violin for the Philharmonic. She took part in a day of outdoor shows this month. She said the experience returned to her a sense of purpose, something she had not felt since indoor shows stopped in March.

"You're not a complete musician if you're just playing for yourself," Simon said.

She and a few other Philharmonic musicians played at three different street corners that day. The first show took place near a Bronx school. The second was held outside a public library in Queens. The final show took place in a Brooklyn greenspace.

As the group began its final performance of the day, singer Anthony Roth Costanzo opened the show, standing¹¹ in the open back of the Bandwagon.

"We're going to play you a little concert," he said as people began to gather around in the warmth of an early autumn sunset.

The show lasted 20 minutes and included famous songs by George Gershwin and Charlie Parker.

As the audience grew, it became clear that the concert was as much an emotional release for the crowd as it was for the musicians. Violinist Curtis Stewart, a guest performer, expressed it this way: "We need a place to put our feelings, we need a place to feel safe," he said.

"You don't know what you've got until it's gone."

The Philharmonic is holding its final 2020 Bandwagon concert this weekend. It plans to restart the program next spring.

On the New York Philharmonic's website, President Borda expressed her hope for a return to full orchestra shows.

"We cannot wait to be reunited with you, our audience, and we look forward to sharing that magical moment when you hear the very first downbeat of a New York Philharmonic concert."

Words in This Story

symphony orchestra – n. a large orchestra of musicians who play classical music together and are led by a conductor

revenue – n. money that is made by or paid to a business or an organization

formal – adj. requiring or using serious and proper clothes and manners

concert – n. a public performance of music

guest – n. a person who is invited to appear or perform on a program, at an event, etc.

magical – adj. very pleasant or exciting

moment – n. a very short period of time

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

3 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

6 revenue   

n.总收入，财政收入，税收；税务局

参考例句：

• The country diminished the revenue by reducing tax.这个国家通过减税而使税收减少了。
• A government's revenue and expenditure should be balanced.政府的财政收入和支出要平衡。

7 symphonies   

n.交响乐，交响曲( symphony的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The melody harks back to one of his earlier symphonies. 这首曲子使人想起他早期的一首交响曲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• No one would deny that Beethoven's symphonies are great masterpieces. 人人都认为贝多芬的交响乐是伟大的杰作。 来自辞典例句

8 crises   

n. 危机；危险期

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically. 经济危机周期性地发生。
• Great crises often call forth gifted leaders. 危急存亡之际常能产生天才的领袖。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。