I did not expect one of my sources of daily entertainment during the quarantine to come from a homework assignment.

One such assignment involved watching Menahem Pressler’s interpretation of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major via the Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall. Little did I know that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Berlin Philharmonic provided anyone a voucher for free full access to the Digital Concert Hall for a month until April 30. What a wonderful gesture for one of the world’s top orchestras to share its artistry during a difficult time!

The Digital Concert Hall has been a welcome source of entertainment for me as a musician throughout the past month. A few of my friends from PHS Orchestra joined me in taking advantage of the resource, and together we’ve made it a custom to watch a concert while video-calling each night. I’m grateful to be able to spend time, albeit virtually, with my friends and fellow musicians. We’ve marveled at the incredible performances of soloists like Yuja Wang and Daniel Barenboim and have enjoyed seeing the Berlin Phil under the baton of a range of conductors, from Simon Rattle to Kiril Petrenko to Herbert von Karajan to Gustavo Dudamel. The sounds of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Dvořák — the list goes on and on — fill my ears for two hours every night. I’ve found listening to music on a daily basis to be incredibly calming during this difficult time and a wonderful means of social interaction.

Although the offer for the voucher will soon go away, the music at the digital concert hall is definitely worth checking out either way.