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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John Knowles Paine: Symphony #1
Classical - Released by New World Records on 1 Jan 1989
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 -
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 -
The Alan Gilbert Era Begins - Music from Opening Night
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 30 Nov 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music from the Hanoi Concerts
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 30 Nov 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No.5 & No.6 "Pathétique"; Nutcracker; Romeo & Juliet
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Copland: Symphony No. 3; Quiet City
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Violin Concerto, Op. 53 - Elgar: Violin Sonata, Op. 82
Maxim Vengerov, Revital Chachamov, New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Without Words
André Kostelanetz And His Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 22 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Tod und Verklärung, Don Juan & 4 Letzte Lieder
Deborah Voigt, New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 30 Apr 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 77 / Schumann: Fantasy For Violin And Orchestra In C Major, Op. 131
Anne-Sophie Mutter, New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Original Maestro (Remastered 2024)
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Urania Records on 20 Feb 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glass: Violin Concerto / Rorem: Violin Concerto (1984) / Bernstein: Serenade After Plato's "Symposium" (1954) For Solo Violin, String Orchestra, Harp And Percussion
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Ouvertüren: Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Der fliegende Holländer
Giuseppe Sinopoli, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 6, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 3 & Famous Works
Kurt Masur, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4; Francesca da Rimini
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Release 7: CONTACT!
New York Philharmonic, Barbara Hannigan
Classical - Released by New York Philharmonic on 12 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo