MUSIC
MONDAY, MAY 28
8:00 PM

Annual Free Memorial Day Concert*
New York Philharmonic
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue, Morningside Heights, Manhattan

Free
https://nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/1718/memorial-day-concert

The Phil gives its annual free Memorial Day concert at St. John the Divine.  Opening is Vaughan Willams's supernal Tallis Fantasia -- one of the few pieces in the orchestral repertoire that could actually benefit from St. John the Divine's echoey ecclesiastical acoustic.  The other piece -- Saint-Saëns's gloriously tuneful Organ Symphony -- perhaps not so much:  it'll likely sound like soup.  But with a real pipe organ (played this evening by the invaluable Kent Tritle), it'll at least be strong, powerful soup.  David Robertson conducts (those three words alone present a compelling case for attending).  The problem, of course, is that you have to spend a good part of the afternoon on line to get into this free concert; ticket distribution starts at 6 PM -- but you have to get there a good deal earlier in order to be sure of admittance.  How much your time is worth to you is your own call.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT:   It is virtually impossible to recommend a concert at St. John's without also recommending that you go to the absolutely wonderful Hungarian Pastry Shop across the street.  Hope they're open this Memorial Day!