New York Resounds: American Symphony Orchestra at Bryant Park event image
Bryant Park, Midtown, Manhattan

New York Resounds: American Symphony Orchestra at Bryant Park

Leon Botstein opens the ASO's 65th season in Bryant Park with Copland's Fanfare and Mahler's Tenth Adagio — a free 9/11 memorial program, no tickets.

Wikimedia Commons image; CC BY-SA 4.0; attribution: Dietmar Rabich; source page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_York_City_(New_York,_USA),_Empire_State_Building_--_2012_--_6448_(bw).jpg

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The program is built as an arc of mourning and resilience: Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, George Walker's Lyric for Strings, Charles Ives's The Gong on the Hook and Ladder, Haydn's Symphony No. 44 in E minor — the "Trauersinfonie" — and the Adagio from Mahler's unfinished Tenth in Cliff Colnot's arrangement. Botstein programs it as a tribute to the dignity of ordinary Americans and the courage of the responders of 9/11. If you want the anniversary to end in music rather than silence, this

What to expect

An open-lawn concert on the Bryant Park lawn with the orchestra on the park's stage: no ticket, no line, no assigned seat. People bring blankets and picnics and settle in well before downbeat, and the lawn fills quickly for a marquee season opener on an anniversary evening. Sightlines are informal, and the sound carries across the lawn.

Good to know

  • No tickets and no RSVP — walk in off the street.
  • Bring a blanket or low chair; the lawn is the seating, and it goes fast for a program like this.
  • Get there well before downbeat if you want lawn space rather than a standing spot at the back.
  • Nearest trains: B/D/F/M to 42nd St–Bryant Park and the 7 to Fifth Ave–Bryant Park.
  • It is an outdoor concert, so check the forecast and dress for an evening on the grass.
  • The same program repeats at Kupferberg Center in Flushing if you would rather hear it indoors.

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Common questions

Do I need a ticket?

No. The concert is free and no tickets are required — the orchestra describes it as being as easy as a walk in the park, with no lines to enter.

What is on the program?

Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, George Walker's Lyric for Strings, Ives's The Gong on the Hook and Ladder, Haydn's Symphony No. 44 "Trauersinfonie," and the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No. 10 arranged by Cliff Colnot, conducted by L

Can I hear this program if I miss it?

Yes. The American Symphony Orchestra repeats the program at LeFrak Concert Hall at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Flushing, Queens, also free.