Crane Business Weekly

Performances are scheduled though Carnegie Hall is still dark.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

This dangling crane on W. 57th Street has closed Carnegie Hall.
Photo from JoeMyGod.

A sunny, if cold weekend is upon us, and as New York continues to struggle back from the devastating hammer-blow of Hurricane Sandy, here's an update on what's going on.

In some good news for Brooklynites, subway service has resumed along the 4, 5, 6 between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The MTA and Con Ed are still working on draining the subway tunnels for the R and A trains, hard hit by the flooding.

Carnegie Hall is unable to open its doors due to the damaged construction crane dangling over W. 57th St. The entire block (and the 57th St. N, Q, R train station) remains closed. The Friday evening recital with Murray Perahia has been moved to Avery Fisher Hall. The crane is scheduled for removal this weekend.

The New York Philharmonic is open, with concerts tonight at Avery Fisher and a 5pm Sunday chamber performance of the Arnold Schoenberg arrangement of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The concert, at the Lincoln Center Rose Theater (located in the Time Warner Center) features piano soloist and Philharmonic Artist-in-Residence Emanuel Ax.

The Metropolitan Opera is proceeding with business "as usual." Today there's a matinee performance of Thomas Àdes' The Tempest and an evening show of Le Nozze di Figaro. Next week, look for more news about the company's new production of Un Ballo in Maschera which opens next Thursday.

Here's some classical comfort food to get you through this difficult time. I know it helps me.