New York Philharmonic - Resident Orchestra

The New York Philharmonic is by far the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. Founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians led by American-born Ureli Corelli Hill, the Orchestra currently plays some 180 concerts a year. On December 18, 2004, the Philharmonic gave its 14,000th concert — a milestone unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.

Lorin Maazel began his tenure as Music Director in September 2002. He succeeded Kurt Masur, who was Music Director from 1991 until the summer of 2002, and who was named Music Director Emeritus on June 1, 2002. Previous Music Directors have included Zubin Mehta (1978–91), and Pierre Boulez (1971–77). Leonard Bernstein, who was appointed Music Director in 1958, was given the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor in 1969.

Since its inception, the Orchestra has championed the new music of its time, giving the first performances of many important works such as Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin's Concerto in F; and Copland's Connotations, in addition to the U.S. premieres of works such as Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9, and Brahms's Symphony No. 4.

This pioneering tradition has continued to the present day, with works of major contemporary composers regularly scheduled each season. John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls, written in memory of September 11, 2001, and commissioned by the New York Philharmonic with Lincoln Center's Great Performers, received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music; a CD of the work, performed in concert by the Orchestra in 2002, was released on Nonesuch in August 2004, and garnered three Grammy awards.

The 2003-04 season featured two World Premiere-New York Philharmonic Commissions: Stephen Hartke's Symphony No. 3, and Poul Ruders' Final Nightshade, in addition to the U.S. premieres of Mark-Anthony Turnage's A Quick Blast, and Henri Dutilleux's Sur le même accord (Nocturne for Violin and Orchestra). In the 2004-05 season the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered Wolfgang Rihm's Two Other Movements; Augusta Read Thomas's Gathering Paradise: Emily Dickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra; and Mark-Anthony Turnage's Scherzoid.

In the 2005-06 season, the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered John Harbison's Milosz Songs for Soprano and Orchestra; and in the 2006-07 season, the Orchestra gave first performances of two commissions: Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto and Melinda Wagner's Trombone Concerto.

The roster of composers and conductors who have led the Philharmonic includes such historic figures as Theodore Thomas, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Antonin Dvorák, Gustav Mahler (Music Director, 1909–11), Otto Klemperer, Richard Strauss, Willem Mengelberg (Music Director, 1922–30), Wilhelm Furtwngler, Arturo Toscanini (Music Director, 1928–36), Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Bruno Walter (Music Advisor, 1947–49), Dimitri Mitropoulos (Music Director, 1949–58), Klaus Tennstedt, George Szell (Music Advisor, 1969–70), and Erich Leinsdorf.

The Philharmonic's remarkable achievements in radio, television, and other media have helped shape communications history. In 1922 the Philharmonic became one of the first orchestras to broadcast a live concert, and its coast-to-coast radio broadcast of 1930 was the first of its kind. In addition, the Philharmonic undertakes a diversified touring schedule each season to share its music with new audiences around the world. From its first tour in 1882, through the 2004–05 season, the Orchestra has performed in 416 cities in 57 countries on five continents.

Television and the Internet have further expanded the Philharmonic's audiences. For more than 20 years, the Orchestra regularly telecast its legendary Young People's Concerts, most of them led by Leonard Bernstein; and, since 1976, the frequent annual appearances of the Philharmonic on PBS's Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center have made it one of the most watched orchestras in the world. In 1999 the Philharmonic launched the hugely popular and award-winning Kidzone, an interactive Website for children and educators alike, and in 2002, a unique initiative in the orchestra world began — the streaming of live radio broadcasts for a period of two weeks following the performance, bringing the Philharmonic to a worldwide audience through its Website, newyorkphilharmonic.org.

Since 1917 the Philharmonic has recorded nearly 2,000 albums; more than 500 recordings are currently available. In 2006 the Philharmonic became the first major orchestra to enter into an agreement to produce downloadable concerts on the DG Concerts label. The first recording in the series, released in April 2006, immediately reached number one on the iTunes classical charts and number thirty-six overall. In February 2003, the Orchestra was honored by The Recording Academy with a Trustees Award in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the industry and American culture. Members of the Philharmonic also performed on the 45th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, televised internationally from New York's Madison Square Garden — the first time that a major symphony orchestra had performed live on the Grammy Awards.