free things to do in New York City
Free events for Monday, 11/17/25
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!  Read More

November 17, 2025. Free shows, free concerts, free movies, free tours, free readings, worshops, lectures, etc.  are New York's best kept secret! Learn all about it and do not miss the unique opportunities that only New York provides: NYC never ceases to amaze you with quantity and quality of its free culture and free entertainment whether it's day or night, weekday or weekend, summer or winter, spring or fall, January or June, May or September. If you are looking for inexpensive things to do and where to go in Manhattan today, tonight, tomorrow, or any other time, or any other day of any week - you came to the right place: just click on any day on the calendar dispayed on the every page of our site and you will see how many events you can attend in Manhattan free of charge on that very day.

New York's cultural scene is at its busiest in October and March (and the same goes for free events, free things to do), but other months of the year still offer incredible amount of high quality, off the beaten path, unique free events, free things to do which will take your breath away! So if you looking for something to do in April or November, December or February, you will find tons of free things to do, free events to go to. (In June, July and August lots of those free events take place outdoors, of course).

So start using these unique New York City opportunities today, November 17, 2025!

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Where else but in New York City can you listen to a world-class musician, discuss a book with a famous author, take a part in poetry reading, have a glass of wine at an art exhibition opening, and all that on the same day, and all that free of charge, and all of that on any day of the year, whether it's December or July, April or November!

The trick is to know about those free events, free things to do BEFORE they happen, not after the fact. That's where Club Free Time comes in handy! Become a Club Free Time member and start using these unique New York City (NYC) opportunities today, November 17, 2025!

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Club Free Time is your perfect guide to Free Entertainment and Free Culture in the City That Never Sleeps.

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Free things to do, free events that take place in New York City every day of the year are truly amazing. So if you're looking for something interesting to do today (November 17, 2025) or on any other day of the year don't miss those free-of-charge opportunities that only New York provides! You can find lots of high quality, off the beaten path, unique free events, free things to do which will take your breath away!

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In addition to providing information about free events, free things to do in New York City (NYC), Club Free Time offers its members complimentary tickets to classical music concerts, dance performances and theater: when a producer wants that special buzz of the 'full house' - Club Free Time members are welcomed for their enthusiasm and sophistication!

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Get a taste of free culture and free entertainment in New York City (NYC)!

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Experience an entirely new perspective on New York. 'Open up a whole new cultural world... in one of the most vibrant capital cities in the world, sampling cultural delights beyond anyone's wildest dream.' Rupert Parker, journalist, photographer, cameraman, and TV producer
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The quality and quantity of
free events,
free things to do
that happen in New York City
every day of the year
is truly amazing.

So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
start taking advantage of
free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
today!
Let New York City surprise, stimulate, entertain and excite you! Read More
Don't miss the unique opportunities that only New York provides:
  • free concerts in NYC
  • free movies in NYC
  • free jazz in NYC
  • free poetry readings in NYC
  • free tours/hikes in NYC
  • free city walks in NYC
  • free Yoga /Tai Chi in NYC
  • fairs and parades in NYC
  • free theater in NYC
  • free tickets to concerts, theater and dance performances in NYC

'New York is abuzz with so much culture that they're giving it away.' (The New York Times article about Club Free Time).

Editor's Picks

free events nyc New York City Hall Guided Tour
free events nyc Afternoon in a Magnificent Small Museum
free events nyc Multi-Genre Dance Showcase with Multimedia Works
free events nyc Tribute to the Queen of Salsa: A Night of Celia Cruz
All Editor's Picks ...
        

31 free  things to do in New York City (NYC) today:
Monday, November 17, 2025

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Master Class | Learn the Ins and Outs of Violin Mastery


Violinist Maria Milstein, a prizewinner of major international competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, provides her expertise in the fine details of great violin playing via a distance learning lesson.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:30 am
Free
Concerts, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Learn the Ins and Outs of Violin Mastery

Workshop | Start the Day with Morning Meditation


Start your day by balancing your mind, body, and spirit during instructor guided meditation. This renowned practice lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and strengthens the immune system.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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9:45 am
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Start the Day with Morning Meditation

Tour | Discover One of New York's Most Famous Parks


Discover how Bryant Park Corporation successfully transformed "Needle Park" of the 1970s into Manhattan's Town Square of today. The guides are loaded with expertise on the park's rich history, award-winning design, distinct amenities, and ongoing maintenance efforts. Tours will continue as scheduled in light rain, but will be cancelled in heavy rain or inclement weather. Bring an umbrella if needed!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:00 am
Free
Tours, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Discover One of New York's Most Famous Parks

Master Class | Broadway Musician Teaches the Ins and Outs of Violin Mastery


Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins--who performed as "The Fiddler", in the Grammy and Tony-nominated Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, and who has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Dallas Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of New York, and more--provides her expertise in the fine details of great violin playing via a distance learning lesson.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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11:40 am
Free
Concerts, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Broadway Musician Teaches the Ins and Outs of Violin Mastery

Workshop | Learn Photography: Post-Processing Multiple Exposures


Multiple exposures are a great way to expand your creative palette and learn to see in a new way. Photographer Leo Mascaro will show the ins and outs of post-processing multiple exposures that were taken in-camera—for those who have this option on their camera—as well as how to create multiple exposures in Photoshop—for those who don’t. If you’ve been looking to try something new with your photography, this is the workshop for you!
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Learn Photography: Post-Processing Multiple Exposures

Film | The Out-of-Towners (1970): Dark Urban Comedy


Ohio sales executive George Kellerman accepts a higher position within the company and travels to New York City with his wife Gwen for his job interview. But things start badly and only grow worse. Director: Arthur Hiller Cast: Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free
Films, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, The Out-of-Towners (1970): Dark Urban Comedy

Party | Fiber/Textile Arts Meetup


Are you a knitter? Do you like to crochet? Maybe you like a different type of fiber art? Whichever it is, bring your supplies and lose yourself in the meditative world of creating art with fiber. Invite your friends, or make new connections there. This is a meet-up, not a class.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free
Partys, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Fiber/Textile Arts Meetup

Lecture | Experts Speak on Syrian Refugees in Turkiye & Jordan


Postdoctoral researcher Shaddin Almasri and Postdoctoral fellow Sam Dinger will discuss the evolution of Syrian refugee policies in Turkiye and Jordan over the last decade and explore the role of embedded (im)permanence in their governance. The surprise fall of the Assad-led government in Syria in late 2024 by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied forces triggered a wave of responses across the region and beyond. These were characterized most prominently by uniformity: nearly all host states of Syrian refugees called for returns. What explains this phenomenon in refugee rentier contexts that had previously spent significant time and resources supporting Syrian refugee integration? 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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3:00 pm
Free
Lectures, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Experts Speak on Syrian Refugees in Turkiye & Jordan

Author Reading | Comics & Fiction Author Shares His New Book, Moscow 93 (In Person AND Online!)


Fiction author Jose Alaniz presents his new novel, Moscow 93. Blending horror and farce, Moscow 93 presents Russia in the first decade after communism through the lens of a sordid expat scene. A scene that, one day, exploded into a war zone.
   New York City, NY; NYC
4:00 pm
Free
Author Readings, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Comics & Fiction Author Shares His New Book, Moscow 93 (In Person AND Online!)

Workshop | Photography Basics: Color & Editing


Photographer Derek Fahsbender guides you from the basics to better photos, from settings and gear to photo theory—and everything in between. Taking photos should be fun and getting the results you want should be easy, so make this part of your photography learning journey and be on your way to creating images you love. This workshop will focus on: Basic editing principles and techniques Color vs. black and white Editing/organizing workflow
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:00 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Photography Basics: Color & Editing

Workshop | Zumba: Latin-Inspired Dance Fitness


Get your heart pumping with Zumba, a dynamic workout set to Latin, international, and popular music. This fun, easy-to-follow class combines fast and slow rhythms for aerobic interval training that challenges both heart and muscles. Perfect for all fitness levels.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:15 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Zumba: Latin-Inspired Dance Fitness

Gallery Talk | Fashion and the Unconscious: Nearly 100 Striking Garments!


This groundbreaking exhibition explores the cultural history of fashion through the lens of psychoanalysis. Nearly 100 striking garments by designers such as Alexander McQueen, Rei Kawakubo, Vivienne Westwood, and Rick Owens are reinterpreted through themes of the body, sexuality, and the unconscious. This five-year research project delves into how desire is stitched into the fabric of what we wear.
   New York City, NY; NYC
5:30 pm
Free
Gallery Talks, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Fashion and the Unconscious: Nearly 100 Striking Garments!

Museums | Remembrance, Reflection and Resilience


A place of commemoration: exhibition, artifacts, photographs, stories and more. Reservations available starting each Monday at 7:00 a.m.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free
Museumss, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Remembrance, Reflection and Resilience

Film | Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden (1993): Fantasy Drama Film with Maggie Smith


A young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets. Director: Agnieszka Holland Cast: Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Maggie Smith. Holland is best known for her films Europa Europa (1990), for which she received a Golden Globe Award as well as an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination,[3] The Secret Garden (1993), Angry Harvest and the Holocaust drama In Darkness, the last two of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[4][5] In 2017, she received the Alfred Bauer Prize (Silver Bear) for her film Spoor at the Berlin International Film Festival. She is also a four-time winner of the Grand Prix at the Gdynia Film Festival. In 2020, she was elected President of the European Film Academy.[6][7] In 2023, her film Green Border won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free
Films, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden (1993): Fantasy Drama Film with Maggie Smith

Gallery Talk | Chicago and the Rise of the Concrete Skyscraper


Architectural historian Thomas Leslie explores how postwar Chicago shaped the development of high-rise concrete construction. The talk highlights the city's innovations in engineering, materials production, and collaboration between research institutions and industry, showing how concrete, once a craft material, became an industrially engineered solution that challenged the steel industry.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free
Gallery Talks, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Chicago and the Rise of the Concrete Skyscraper

Workshop | Learn & Practice Chess with an Expert


Learn to play chess or develop your strategies with chess expert Tamar Chanadiri from the Marshall Chess Club. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, as each one builds on the previous. Bring a friend or join on your own--all levels and ages are welcome! Chess sets are provided but you're welcome to bring your own. From 6-7 PM Tamar will provide instruction for beginner-level players. From 7-8 PM there will be open play for all levels.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Learn & Practice Chess with an Expert

Workshop | Low Impact Bodyweight Circuit Training


Build strength and endurance with this full-body circuit workout using only your bodyweight. This low-impact class combines resistance and conditioning exercises for an effective, easy-on-the-joints session. Perfect for all fitness levels. 
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Low Impact Bodyweight Circuit Training

Book Discussion | Prize-Winning Writer Shares His New Essay Collection, Wild Fictions (+ Signing)


2025 recipient of the Pak Kyongni Prize Amitav Ghosh celebrates his newest collection of essays, Wild Fictions: Essays on Literature, Empire, and the Environment, writings on subjects such as literature, climate change, travel, and discoveries thread together with reflections on the spaces that we inhabit and how we occupy them. He will be in conversation with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, followed by a signing.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free
Book Discussions, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Prize-Winning Writer Shares His New Essay Collection,&nbsp;Wild Fictions&nbsp;(+ Signing)

Classical Music | The World's Most Important Accordionist Performs Works of Romantic Composer


Dr. William Schimmel discusses Hector Berlioz' body of work and performs Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869) pieces transcribed for accordeon. "The World's Most Important Accordionist, Dr. Schimmel, is an extraordinary man at so many levels. No musician, no scholar under the sun can match the talent, the creativity, the musical knowledge and musical accomplishments of this superman of the world of accordion and music" Accordion Star Magazine
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free
Concerts, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, The World's Most Important Accordionist Performs Works of Romantic Composer

Staged Reading | An Accidental Murder?: Drama Exploring Domestic Abuse & Italian-American Hardships


An Accidental Murder? is set in a small suburban town in New York. The year is 1965, the day is March 7th, or more importantly, remembered as "Bloody Sunday." While watching the movie Judgement at Nuremberg, Margie is reminded of the horrors of prejudice and hatred during the holocaust. Then the movie is abruptly interrupted to show the visual images of peaceful marchers struggling to fight for dignity and equality while being met by government-sanctioned violence. Soon after, the violence is intertwined in the everyday life of Mrs. Costa, living with an abusive Italian husband, tormented by the prejudice he has had to endure. Margie becomes a witness to the violent abuse of Mrs. Costa. An Accidental Murder? Unmasks the hidden epidemic of domestic abuse and how, at that time, our lack of laws to protect the abused became societal-sanctioned cruelty. Domestic abuse causes lingering damage, not only to the direct victim but to all the others in that person's life who love them and try to protect them, for they are the victims too. By the end of the play, Margie has a moral dilemma to solve. Written by Diana M. Grillo. Directed by Laura Caparrotti. Diana M. Grillo is an award-winning short story author and playwright.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free
Staged Readings, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, An Accidental Murder?: Drama Exploring Domestic Abuse & Italian-American Hardships

Performance | Indigenous Voices: Celebrating Playwrights & Composers


Join a vibrant showcase of works by Native American, Austronesian, Global Indigenous, Aboriginal, and First Nations playwrights and composers. This two-day celebration highlights creativity, fosters collaboration, and connects artists with New York City’s theatrical community.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Performances, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Indigenous Voices: Celebrating Playwrights & Composers

Staged Reading | New Play Adaptation: Internee Number 6


Experience a reading of Nurit Chinn’s (UK) new play in development, Internee Number 6, followed by a panel with Chinn and Natalia Indrimi, the Executive Director of the Primo Levi Center. Internee Number 6 is a theatrical adaptation of a memoir by the same name, written by Maria Eisenstein and first published in 1944. It was largely written in the summer of 1940. The play, adapted by Nurit Chinn, explores the little-known experiences of Jewish women imprisoned in Fascist internment camps in Italy during the Holocaust. It follows Eisenstein and other foreign Jewish women as they navigate daily life in the camp ran by Italian fascists—forming friendships, staging quiet acts of rebellion, and grappling with profound uncertainty as Hitler’s forces advance across Europe. The script draws almost entirely from Eisenstein’s original text, the earliest known memoir written from inside an Italian Fascist internment camp.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free
Staged Readings, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, New Play Adaptation:&nbsp;Internee Number 6

Lecture | Understanding the Food Painted in Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper


Enjoy a gastro-philosophical and socio-political angle of looking at The Last Supper. In 1494-98, Leonardo da Vinci painted what is arguably the most famous painting of all times, The Last Supper. And he graces the Lord's Table--inevitably a Jewish meal--with dishes of eels, a Renaissance delicacy but clearly a non-kosher food. Why? Italian essayist, editor, translator and award-winning poet Luigi Ballerini explores the context of real food beginning to be painted in Last Suppers in the second half of the 15th century, as a result of the liceity of pleasure, resurrected by Florentine Humanists' reading of Classical Texts (primarily Lucretius and Aristotle), which, in ever larger quantities and surprising varieties, remains a staple of that painterly subject throughout the 16th century. And a hypothesis is formulated about da Vinci's painting that transcends the painter's minimalistic gastronomic interests, as well as his incessant scientific curiosity.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:30 pm
Free
Lectures, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Understanding the Food Painted in Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
7:00 pm
Regular: $50
Member: $0
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Plays, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Broadway Actors in a Play About Groundbreaking TV Show

Lecture | Hear from Multidimensional Film Artist about Her Craft


Enjoy a lecture with artist Mika Rottenberg, who is devoted to a rigorous practice that combines film, architectural installation, and sculpture to explore ideas of labor and the production of value in our contemporary hyper-capitalist world. Using traditions of both cinema and sculpture, she seeks out locations around the world where specific systems of production and commerce are in place, such as a pearl factory in China, and a Calexico border town. Through the editing process, and with footage from sets built in her studio, Rottenberg connects seemingly disparate places and things to create elaborate and subversive visual narratives. By weaving fact and fiction together, she highlights the inherent beauty and absurdity of our contemporary existence. Each of Rottenberg’s video works is situated within a theatrical installation, made up of objects from the parallel worlds in her videos. Sacks of pearls, deflated pool toys, plastic flowers and sizzling frying pans seem to open a portal into the realm of the work. Her multidimensional film projects are often accompanied by standalone sculptural works, connected by allegory. Rottenberg was the recipient of the 2019 Kurt Schwitters Prize, which recognizes artists who have made a significant contribution to the field of contemporary art. In 2018, she was the winner of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s James Dicke Contemporary Artist Prize, which recognizes an artist younger than 50 who has produced a significant body of work and consistently demonstrates exceptional creativity. Rottenberg’s work is held in numerous major museum and public collections including the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.  
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free
Lectures, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Hear from Multidimensional Film Artist about Her Craft

Jazz | "Intellectually Rigorous" Quartet Celebrates Album Release


Celebrate the third release in the Westerlies' Songbook seriese, with the quartet celebrating friends and collaborators including Fleet Foxes, Adrianne Lenker, Samora Pinderhughes, Anaïs Mitchell and more on an intimate live recording made at their own Seattle festival. The Westerlies music ensemble (Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone) is a critically-acclaimed group with eight albums. They've played in studio and live alongside artists from Common to Dave Douglas, and on GRAMMY-nominated releases from both Fleet Foxes and Aoife O'Donovan.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free
Concerts, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, "Intellectually Rigorous" Quartet Celebrates Album Release
7:30 pm
Regular: $15
Member: $0
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Staged Readings, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Holiday Musical Comedy
7:30 pm
Regular: $69.50
Member: $0
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Plays, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Legendary Performer in a Thoughtful and Comedic Play
7:30 pm
Regular: $35
Member: $0
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Poetry Readings, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Literary Tribute to Nobel Prize Winner

Workshop | Vinyasa Yoga Flow (Online!)


Join this online yoga community for a Vinyasa flow that includes warm-up, balance poses, gentle inversions, and final relaxation. Designed to promote empowerment and self-affirmation, this class leaves you feeling refreshed, centered, and connected to a supportive community. Mats and props are recommended but not required.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free
Workshops, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Vinyasa Yoga Flow (Online!)

Classical Music | Cello Works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, & More (In Person AND Online!)


Kuan Yu Huang, cello, plays a series of pieces by famous composers of the Classical through Contemporary pieces. Program: Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Variations Concertantes, Op. 17 Johann Brahms (1833-1897) Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano, Op. 99 Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931) Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 28
   New York City, NY; NYC
8:00 pm
Free
Concerts, November 17, 2025, 11/17/2025, Cello Works by Mendelssohn, Brahms, & More (In Person AND Online!)
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Complimentary Tickets

to shows, concerts ... (CFT Deals!)

Classical Music | Orchestral Works by Mozart and More

Regular Price: $25
CFT Member Price: $0.00

Play | Broadway Actor in a Play About a Towering Figure in Media

Regular Price: $59
CFT Member Price: $0.00