Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Music / News New York Philharmonic Explains Canceled Parks Performances
Posted by Henry Stewart on Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 1:07 PM
In an interview with the Times, orchestra president Zarin Mehta explains it was problems with the parks department over this long-planned memorial gift to New York City that's really to blame for all this trouble.
The philharmonic had also long-ago scheduled an Andrea Bocelli concert in Central Park five days after the 9/11 concert, also planned for Central Park. Because the musicians had a vacation scheduled that week, the orchestra gave them the week of July 11 off instead—what would have been the parks-concert week. Then, early this year, parks told the orchestra that the Great Lawn couldn't accommodate both concerts; because the complex logistics of the Bocelli concert had already been arranged—sponsors solicited, fees paid, CDs and DVDs scheduled for release, a live broadcast scheduled for television—the 9/11 concert was moved indoors.
But that concert had been meant to be an anchor for the five-boroughs tour. "Without Central Park," Mehta told the Times, "I can’t afford to do the other boroughs.” And without the terrorists, we wouldn't have needed any memorial concerts!
"I don’t think we should be criticized for something which was largely not of our making,” Mehta added. “Nobody here is happy about the fact there will be no concerts in the boroughs.” Nobody out here in Brooklyn, either.
[photo]
Top Commenters
