New York Philharmonic
The world-renowned New York Philharmonic (officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York) is America's oldest symphony orchestra, a prime example of high standards of performance to musicians and audiences everywhere.
Beginning in the 1820s, there were several attempts to found an orchestra in the city, the more successful of which were the Philharmonic Symphony Society (established in 1842) and the New York Symphony (established in 1878). The Philharmonic had a reputation for conservatism and high standards, hiring primarily European conductors, such as Gustav Mahler. The Symphony seemed more ambitious and interested in new music. It received patronage from Andrew Carnegie, enabling the building of Carnegie Hall (1891), with an inaugural concert led by Walter Damrosch and Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky. The Philharmonic Society finally merged with the Symphony in 1928, during the tenure of Arturo Toscanini, who helped it establish its world-class reputation. Many great conductors would follow, among them: Leonard Bernstein (1958-1969, when he was named conductor laureate), Kurt Masur (1991-2002, when he was named music director emeritus), Alan Gilbert (2009-2017), and as of the 2018-2019 season, Jaap van Zweden. Under Bernstein, the orchestra's reputation blossomed in new ways. He brought a youthful excitement to the music, engaging new audience members, particularly through television appearances. The advent of stereo recording allowed the Philharmonic to re-record much of the standard canon. It also got a new performance venue: Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.
Many of the Philharmonic's directors have had to deal with threats to its standing among the world's great orchestras: competition on stages and on records from other, strong American orchestras; internal and external economic difficulties; and balancing the traditional with new music in a way that satisfies its core audience. However, commissioning and introducing new works is a long-held tradition. Memorable premieres include Dvorák's New World Symphony; Gershwin's Concerto in F; the Pulitzer Prize-winning On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams; Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto; and The Jungle, Wynton Marsalis' fourth symphony. The Philharmonic commissioned a new work by Julia Wolfe, Fire in My Mouth, giving its premiere in 2019 and receiving a Grammy nomination for its recording. In 2020, the Philharmonic inaugurated Project 19 to commission new music from 19 women composers, named such to mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Among the first of these commissions was Tania León's Stride, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2021.
The orchestra has performed in more than 430 cities in 63 countries, which includes its first tour after merging when Toscanini took it to Europe in 1930 and a trip to the U.S.S.R. in 1959. In 2008, Lorin Maazel led it in a historic concert in Pyongyang, North Korea, the first significant cultural visit to the country by an American organization since the 1950s. The Philharmonic hosts several free concerts each year, operates outreach programs in the city, and partners with select music schools in the U.S. and China.
The Philharmonic's recording history dates back to 1917, counting over 2,000 releases, many of them award winners, with hundreds of them available at any given time. As many other orchestras have done, it has created its own label, releasing live concert recordings physically, and was the first to do so digitally as well, also offering podcasts and other new media. Its Leon Levy Digital Archives contain every program printed since 1842, plus scores marked by musicians and conductors. After a fundraising campaign to rehabilitate the Avery Fisher Hall in 2014, the venue was renamed the David Geffen Hall in 2015. Following significant renovations, it reopened for the 2022-2023 season.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Schumann, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Ravel...
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, RCA Victor Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on 25 Jun 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphonies No. 1 "Le printemps" & No. 4
Charles Munch, Leonard Bernstein, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on 27 Feb 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 "Babi Yar"
Kurt Masur, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zino Francescatti plays Lalo & Vieuxtemps
Zino Francescatti, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy, Dimitri Mitropoulos, William Smith
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 1 Jan 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Release 1: R. Strauss: Don Juan - Dutilleux: Métaboles - Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes of Carl Maria von Weber
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 14 Dec 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Storytelling by Ravel, Bartók & Barber’s Violin Concerto
New York Philharmonic, Gil Shaham
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 4 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Concerto Grosso/Trumpet Cto/Symbolon/Double Quartet
Classical - Released by New World Records on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (Live)
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 7 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Live)
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 7 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 (Live)
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 7 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Knowles Paine: Symphony #1
Classical - Released by New World Records on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of George Szell, Vol. 2 (Edouard Lalo - Johannes Brahms - Carl Maria von Weber)
Alfredo Campoli, Clifford Curzon, The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, George Szell
Classical - Released by West Hill Radio Archives on 4 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Knowles Paine: Symphony No. 2 in A, Op. 34
Classical - Released by New World Records on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6
New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Release 10: Sebastian Currier: Time Machines - Bruckner: Symphony No. 2
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 19 Jul 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann & Webern: The Austro-German Line
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 16 Feb 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Live)
New York Philharmonic, George Szell
Classical - Released by Archipel on 7 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Te deum - Mahler: Symphonie No. 5 (Mono Version)
New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, Westminster Choir
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonie No. 2 (Mono Version)
Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 - Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Classical - Released by >ReNovo< on 1 Mar 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky & Mozart (Live)
Vladimir Horowitz, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Altair on 16 Jun 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo