James Gaffigan To Conduct The New York Philharmonic In 29th Annual Free Memorial Day Concert

James Gaffigan will conduct the New York Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 at the 29th Annual Free Memorial Day Concert, Monday, May 25, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the performance; ticket distribution will begin at 5:00 p.m. The audio of the performance will be broadcast onto the adjacent Pulpit Green, weather permitting. The program will be presented without intermission.

Since it was introduced in 1992, this gift to the people of New York City has become both a day of musical remembrance and a traditional start of the Philharmonic's summer activities, with The New Yorker calling it "one of the orchestra's most admirable traditions."

James Gaffigan most recently led the Orchestra in another of the Philharmonic's annual free summer appearances: the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, in 2018. The New York Times selected the program as a Critic's Pick, praising the "dynamic" conductor's "colorful, rhapsodic" accounts. The Dallas Morning News wrote of Mr. Gaffigan's 2017 performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony: "Gaffigan obviously had Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in his heartbeat and respiration. Pacing and dynamics were strategically gauged but felt entirely organic. Decrescendos were as gripping as crescendos. Phrases were warmly shaped.... That was an exciting Tchaikovsky Five I'd be happy to have on CD."

Admission to this performance is free. Tickets are required and will be distributed at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine beginning at 5:00 p.m. the evening of the concert; doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the performance.