New York Philharmonic

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The New York Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in New York City. One of the most notable orchestras in the United States, it is considered by some to be the oldest American orchestra, although others give the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra that distinction. As of 2004, it gives most of its concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, and a plan to permanently move to Carnegie Hall was scrapped.

The orchestra was founded by Ureli Corelli Hill in 1842 as the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York and played its first concert on December 7 of that year, when Beethoven's Fifth Symphony was performed. There had been other orchestras in New York before, but none of them had survived for very long. The Philharmonic, however, became successful, and grew in popularity and size throughout the 19th century. By the end of that century, there were several other orchestras in New York competing with it, as well as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which made regular visits to New York.

In 1893, the Philharmonic, conducted by Anton Seidl, gave the world premiere of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, From the New World, which helped to raise its international profile. However, it was with the orchestra's reconstitution as a full time professional organisation in 1909 that it really took off. Gustav Mahler, now remembered as a composer, but then one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, became the newly professional orchestra's first music director.

The Philharmonic has often commissioned new pieces from modern composers, and has been at the forefront of technical advances as well. In 1922, it was the first major orchestra to give a live concert broadcast on radio (a first also claimed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra). In 1928 the Philharmonic Symphony Society (as it was still officially known) merged with its longtime rival New York Symphony Orchestra to form the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, and would later acquire its current name of New York Philharmonic.

In 1930, it was the first to give such a broadcast across all America. These broadcast performances have continued to modern times.

From 1937 to 1954 the Philharmonic had a new rival: the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was also based in New York, had former Philharmonic conductor Arturo Toscanini as its director and paid higher salaries, enabling it to hire many of the best musicians in America.

The New York Philharmonic developed and maintains a reputation as an outstanding educational resource. Their Young People's Concerts, begun by Ernest Schelling March 27, 1924 and made famous by Leonard Bernstein, were broadcast nationally and are available on CD and tape.

The orchestra was officially housed in Carnegie Hall until 1962, when it moved to its current home of Avery Fisher Hall, which is part of Lincoln Center in New York City. In June 2003, the Philharmonic announced plans to return to Carnegie Hall by 2006; under pressure, Lincoln Center eventually agreed to upgrade many of its services in order to keep the orchestra. The promise of these improvements will keep the orchestra at Lincoln Center for the foreseeable future.

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List of Music Directors

Lorin Maazel, (2002 - )
Kurt Masur, (1991 - 2002)
Zubin Mehta, (1978 - 1991)
Pierre Boulez, (1971 - 1977)
George Szell, (1969 - 1970) (musical advisor)
Leonard Bernstein, (1958 - 1969) (also conductor laureate, 1969-1990)
Dimitri Mitropoulos, (1949 - 1958)
Leopold Stokowski, (1949 - 1950)
Bruno Walter (1947 - 1949) (musical advisor)
Artur Rodziński (1943 - 1947)
John Barbirolli (1937 - 1942)

(In 1934, Wilhelm Furtwängler was initially nominated but withdrew amid accusations, misunderstandings and propaganda about Nazi sympathies, later disproved)[1]