To kick off its series of free concerts in Central Park, the New York Philharmonic is paying tribute to the victims of the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonic’s music director, dedicated the performance to “not just to the memory of the victims,” but also to “the idea that we are all part of a shared humanity,” the New York Times reports. The tribute continued symbolically as Gilbert changed the scheduled opening piece from a Rossini overture to the Adagio for Strings by Barber, a composer who was openly gay.
Watch a video of the performance of Barber’s Adagio for Strings after the jump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uRS8O3nT4U&feature=youtu.be&w=580