New York Philharmonic cancels entire season for 1st time in history

David Geffen Hall, home to the New York Philharmonic, at Lincoln Center, closed during the COVID-19 lockdown, in New York, May 12, 2020. (AP PHOTO)

by Anadolu Agency

Oct 14, 2020 4:04 pm

The New York Philharmonic made a "dreadful" cancellation of an entire season for the first time in its 178-year history due to mandatory state and city government health regulations against the coronavirus.

"In the 178-year history of our institution, the cancellation of an entire season marks a historic first and a dreadful one at that," President and CEO Deborah Borda said Tuesday in a statement.

Borda was referring to the rest of the 2020 season through June 13, 2021.

"If you are disappointed, please, know how devastated we all are by this turn of events. The health and financial challenges, indeed the experiential challenges we all face, are profound."

Members of the NY Phil Bandwagon (from L) violinist Fiona Simon, countertenor and producer Anthony Roth Costanzo, violinist Curtis Stewart and viola player Robert Rinehart perform in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Oct. 2, 2020. (AP PHOTO)

However, she said all New Yorkers would enjoy live music with the NY Phil Bandwagon's free concerts at announced locations, which "will resume by popular demand in the spring."

"We are in the process of developing an expanded orchestral live streaming series to be launched in the winter (if the authorities allow it) and hope to announce details of this in just a bit," she added.

Borda said the NY Philharmonic's 2021-22 season will be announced in the spring of next year.

The symphony orchestra closed its doors in March following a surge in virus cases in New York City. New York to date has recorded more than 476,700 COVID-19 cases and 33,306 fatalities, according to a running tally of Johns Hopkins University.