In New York, musicians perform behind the windows of a store

Musicians in the window: the image can make you smile, in the temple of consumption that New York represents.

A pianist and a cellist play an aria by Debussy;

their notes fly away and, through loudspeakers, echo behind the window of an abandoned store on the Upper West Side of New York where they come to call out to the few passers-by of the moment: joggers, parents with stroller, elderly.

All listen, take a look at the window and discover, with surprise, not models or various products of the moment, but the figure of Spencer Myer, on the piano, and of Michael Katz, on the cello.

Read also: Between a great show and clinical experience, a first rock concert electrifies Barcelona

No concert hall, no armchairs, a separating glass, but it is indeed a concert, the opportunity for two musicians "

" for human contact, as Spencer Myer says, to play together and find an audience. .

"

," Michael Katz, who has already performed in most of New York's classic venues, told AFP.

“

"

"Musical showcases"

From April 2, performance venues will be allowed to reopen to the public in New York City, but with a tonnage limited to 33% or 100 people maximum.

On April 14 and 15, the New York Philharmonic will be making its personal return at The Shed, a cultural space in midtown Manhattan.

But this will only be a foretaste, because the "

", who has also organized small impromptu outdoor concerts since September, is already turned towards September, like the Metropolitan Opera or the New York City Ballet. .

Read also: The Maîtrise populaire de l'Opéra-Comique launches a crowdfunding campaign

In the meantime, the Kaufman Music Center has organized a program called

("

"), to allow musicians to perform in the neighborhood, under the shelter of a glass wall.

The organizers of this New York Upper West Side institution, both a venue for concerts and musical education, prefer not to disclose the exact location of the famous showcase, nor to reveal the calendar in advance. concerts, to avoid too large gatherings, coronavirus requires.

“

,” explains Kate Sheeran, who runs the Kaufman Music Center,

"

One of the lessons of the pandemic is the need for music, theater and dance, live performance in general that people have.

Michael Katz, cellist

The project "

."

Some 30% of New York City adults have already received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and with the onset of spring, hope is reborn.

The city “

”enthuses Terry Lieberman, who has come to pick up some melodies by Debussy, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Boulanger.

“

"

", summarizes Michael Katz.

“

”.

While spring is already here and the beautiful days are gradually returning, this essential need is reappearing more and more urgently in the four corners of the world.

In Barcelona, ​​on Saturday, a rock concert brought together 5,000 people for a life-size test of health measures that could be generalized to facilitate the return of major concerts and festivals, while in Paris, in front of the busy Odeon theater , the artists mobilized in music to demand the reopening of places of culture and state aid.