Mariah Carey and 2 of her backup singers perform in their own homes for the iHeart Living Room Concert for America. ©

On  March 29,  The iHeart Living Room Concert for America was shown streaming online.  Acts such as Elton John, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Backstream Boys, Billie Eilish and others performed, each from their own living rooms, using Zoom technology.

It was very good, and I even got a T shirt.  And no performer was endangered, because they all were home.  I was surprised how the ensemble effect, with all players in different locations, could  work out in presenting music live.  With music, the various components need to reach your ear, arriving exactly together. I thought the technology was very good, but the audio quality is another issue.

Concert halls have been shut down across the country because of the coronavirus, and many symphony musicians are out of work. For classical orchestral musicians, there are no concerts except for perhaps some small groups seated with distancing.

In June we received word from the Jewish Federation that one of the world’s finest orchestras, the Israel Philharmonic  (IPO,)  was planning a “global gala” on June 28, which would be shown online, featuring mostly prerecorded guest artists, and the entire orchestra performs live  briefly.  It would be seen by hundreds of thousands around the world and would be a fund raiser.  A few parts would be presented with soloists having recorded in advance, but most of it would stream live.

We were among 13,000 who pre-registered, but it was scheduled to be seen in 10 different time zones by many thousands of music lovers.  Actress Helen Mirren was the hostess.

Helen Mirren, host.

The concert was happening live in Tel Aviv, the home of the Orchestra.

We waited by our computer as the show began. First came Pinchas Zuckerman the violinist along with Amanda Forsyth cellist and Brian Waghorn pianist.They played “Ladies in Lavender” from the movie of that name. It is a beautiful short piece, so bear with me while I make a recording of a recording.

But this studio recording is better with Joshua Bell, Nigel Hess, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:

Then came a piano solo by Khatia Buniatishvili,a 32 year old Russian artist. She performed Clair de Lune by Debussy.  But my recording is poor, so here she is with a You Tube video and a red dress which Debussy would have liked—he was French.

Then the concert broke down.   Although 170,000 did see it live streamed, many thousands more, including we in New Jersey, were out of luck.

After a few days it was determined to be a cyber terrorist attack.  But the entire concert was recorded and can be seen at the IPO website.  We saw it about a week later, and it is wonderful

If you wish to view this concert, it is free.   Go to your browser and type in:  Israel Philharmonic Global Gala.   Most of the artists appear prerecorded in small groups and from places like Sweden and Vienna.  The selections are brief and wonderful.  At the end the full orchestra plays one piece and then the Israel National anthem  Hatikvah.

Dame Helen Mirren said,  “Stay safe and know that this will pass. But music will be with us forever. Thank God for music.”

Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net