Filling a hole with music

The weekend of our visit to New York City was not only the 9/11 anniversary, but the start of Fashion Week, so the city was super packed.
We planned to have drinks at the rooftop restaurant at the Empire Hotel on Saturday, but there was some sort of model convention going on, so we opted to check out what was drawing a crowd at the Lincoln Center across the street.
It was "A Concert for New York," a free performance of  Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, by the New York Philharmonic. For those who didn't get tickets, like us, seats were set up in the plaza.

 I think those who sat outside heard a richer performance. Those sitting inside didn't get to hear the sounds of New York - traffic, car horns, sirens - complete the score. It was the most amazing musical experience of my life.
Sunday was somber, as expected, but so good in many ways.
That night we headed down to Ground Zero. We emerged from the Wall Street subway station into an eerie scene. The sad and beautiful Towers of Light bounced off an overcast sky casting a strange pall over the city.

After taking some pictures, we started back for the subway. As we walked down a narrow alley, I stopped. I could hear something, but couldn't make out what it was or where it was coming from. It was the wail of bagpipes that seemed to come from the very bricks in the buildings surrounding us. We followed the haunting sound that floated over Trinity Church in search the source of the sound. We were drawn to another alley, where two NYC firefighters in their Pipes and Drums dress uniforms were playing in the city's eerie light.

The city is always busy, filled with busy, sometimes grumpy people who sometimes honk and yell at you - but there is beauty in this city, even when it's grieving - if you stop to listen.