New York Philharmonic

Last night we went to a free concert at Hecksher Park. The New York Philharmonic conducted by Xian Zhang performed exquistely under challenging conditions. The weather was just horrible for the musicians. It was so muggy that there was significant condensation on the string instruments. There was an extraordinary young woman, Karen Gomyo, a violin soloist who was having an understandably difficult time playing a wet violin. The program had to be cut short. We did hear Der fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) Overture, by Richard Wagner. The first two movements of Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, by Eduardo Lalo which is not a piece of music I am familiar with but it was wonderful. It was so disappointing that the violinist could not complete the piece. They ended the concert with the last movement of Tchiakovsky's Fifth Symphony. They were supposed to do the whole thing but ugh that humidity! The concert is concluded every year with a Grucci fireworks display and it did so this year as well. Unfortunately it was so foggy that you could not see the fireworks at all. All you could see was the sky lightening up in whatever color. The kids were very disappointed. It was still a lot of fun though and everyone agreed it was worth braving the potential thunderstorms. We had gotten there at about 6:00 and picnicked. The young kids played with bubbles while the older ones played cards and chess until the music started. There were only three families so it was only 17 kids. We didn't get home until quite late so it was a slow morning and a late Mass for us. The weather is still awful and it looks like it is going to continue this way for a few days. Thank God for air conditioning.