Club Free Time Blog

Short on Days, Long on Music

Violin key

Gail Wein
January 26, 2018

The month of February is short on days, but long on concerts. There is a vast selection of live music to help chase away any winter blues you may have.

February 2 is Groundhog’s Day, the day we’ll find out - according to folklore - if we’ll have an early spring. It’s also the day of Opera Lafayette’s production at the Gerald Lynch Theater of the American premiere of Erminia by Alessandro Scarlatti, and The Enchanted Forest by Francesco Geminiani, performed as a ballet pantomime. Featured is the eye-popping dance troupe Kalanidhi Dance, all in all bringing 17th century opera to life. Tickets at Opera Lafayette’s website.

Speaking of eye-popping baroque music, the ever-energetic band from London, Red Priest, performs at the Met Museum on Feb 28. Their program considers the connections—real and imagined—between gypsy musicians and the court composers of the time, including Telemann, Handel and Vivaldi. Tickets at Met Museum.

It seems like NYC’s major arts institutions pull out all the stops in February, with drool-worthy artists and programs throughout the month. The organist Kent Tritle will literally pull the stops as soloist with the NY Philharmonic when they perform Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3, the Organ Symphony, February 8-9-10.

A few weeks later, February 28 - March 3, the spectacular pianist Yuja Wang performs Brahms with Jaap Van Zweden conducting. If you can get a ticket for NY Philharmonic’s annual Chinese New Year concert on February 20, GO. It never fails to delight.

Carnegie Hall brings in a cluster of “A-list” stars all month, and each one seems like an unmissable program. Baritone Matthias Goerne with pianist Daniil Trifonov deliver a romantic program on February 6, violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk play Mozart, Schubert and more on February 7, the Chicago Symphony performs a program that features the orchestra’s trombones and tuba on February 9 and return on February 10 to play Brahms, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Emanuel Ax bring us more Brahms (because, really, we can never have too much Brahms), the Vienna Philharmonic is led by Gustavo Dudamel on February 24 (Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique”) and February 25 (Tchaikovsky’s 4th) and pianist Mitsuko Uchida swoops in with two all-Schubert programs on February 26 and March 2. Whew!

To cap things off, there are a couple of free concerts that are very worthy of your time and attention. The toy piano player (yes, that’s a thing) Phyllis Chen performs in midtown on February 15, and the Harlem Quartet gives a performance in (wait for it……) Harlem on February 22.

Yes, the days are short, the temperatures are low, and we’re months away from the rejuvenating signs of spring. But these phenomenal concert offerings will keep you busy and happy every day of the month.