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We've already loaded you up with a huge amount of summer concerts info, including free shows, outdoor shows and rundowns on all sorts of great warm-weather series. One area we haven't yet covered, though, is classical music. This is a good day to fix that. Tonight marks the kickoff of a beloved local tradition: the NY Phil's Concerts in the Park, a series that turns 50 this year. The 2015 edition features six free concerts spanning one week and all five boroughs. See below for info on those gigs, as well as the Metropolitan Opera's Summer Recital Series, which continues tonight and also pays a visit to every borough between now and the end of June.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do outside in NYC
NY Phil Concerts in the Park
All performances start at 8pm.
June 17
Great Lawn, Central Park (Westside entrances: West 81st or 86th Streets at Central Park West. Eastside entrances: East 79th or 85th Streets at Fifth Avenue.)
All-American Program with Joshua Bell
Alan Gilbert conducts Bernstein's West Side Story Suite, featuring violinist Joshua Bell, alongside works by Barber, Gershwin, Copland, Anderson, Rodgers, and Sousa.
June 18
Great Lawn, Central Park
Charles Dutoit Conducts Petrushka
Charles Dutoit leads the Orchestra in Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture; Saint-Saëns's Violin Concerto No. 3, with Renaud Capuçon as soloist; Stravinsky's Petrushka (1911 version); and Ravel's La Valse.
June 19
Prospect Park (Enter at Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park West at 9th Street or Bartel-Pritchard Circle.)
Charles Dutoit Conducts Petrushka (repeat)
June 22
Cunningham Park, Queens (Enter at 193rd Street, near 81st Avenue or Union Turnpike.)
Alan Gilbert Conducts West Side Story
Alan Gilbert returns in an all-American program featuring Bernstein's West Side Story Concert Suite No. 1, performed by soprano Julia Bullock and tenor Ben Bliss. Plus: works by Barber, Gershwin, Copland, Anderson, Rodgers, and Sousa.
June 23
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx (Enter the park from Broadway, near West 251st Street.)
Alan Gilbert Conducts West Side Story (repeat)
June 24
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island
Free indoor concert
New York Philharmonic musicians perform Mozart's Serenade in G major, Eine kleine Nachtmusik; Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46; and Spohr's Nonet. Tickets are free but required; reserve at brownpapertickets.com.
Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series
June 17
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, Brooklyn
Janai Brugger, soprano
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano
Nathan Gunn, baritone
Dan Saunders, pianist
June 24
Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens
Kiri Deonarine, soprano
Ginger Costa-Jackson, mezzo-soprano
John Moore, baritone
Dan Saunders, pianist
June 26
Jackie Robinson Park, Manhattan
Kiri Deonarine, soprano
Ginger Costa-Jackson, mezzo-soprano
John Moore, baritone
Dan Saunders, pianist
June 28
Crotona Park, Bronx
Kiri Deonarine, soprano
Ginger Costa-Jackson, mezzo-soprano
John Moore, baritone
Dan Saunders, pianist
June 30
Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island
Kiri Deonarine, soprano
Ginger Costa-Jackson, mezzo-soprano
John Moore, baritone
Dan Saunders, pianist