New York Philharmonic - 10/2010

Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest in the world. Since its inception, the Philharmonic has played a leading role in American musical life, championing the new music of its time and commissioning or premiering many important works, from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World (1893) and Gershwin’s An American in Paris (1928) to John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning On the Transmigration of Souls (2002) and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto (2007). Alan Gilbert became Music Director in the 2009-10 season, succeeding Lorin Maazel in a distinguished line of musical giants that has included Kurt Masur, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Gustav Mahler,  Bruno Walter, and Arturo Toscanini. Over the last century the Philharmonic has become renowned around the globe, having appeared in 425 cities in 59 countries on five continents. In February 2008 the Philharmonic made a historic visit to Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — the first performance there by an American orchestra and an event that was watched around the world and for which the Philharmonic received the 2008 Common Ground Award for Cultural Diplomacy.

Long a media pioneer, the Orchestra began radio broadcasts in 1922, and is currently represented by The New York Philharmonic This Week, syndicated nationally 52 weeks per year, streamed on the Orchestra’s Website, nyphil.org, and carried on Sirius XM Radio. On television, in the 1950s and ’60s, the Philharmonic inspired a generation of music lovers through Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts, broadcast on CBS, and its presence on television has continued with annual appearances on Live From Lincoln Center, which began with that series’ inaugural episode in 1976. The Internet has expanded the Orchestra’s reach, and in 2006 the Philharmonic became the first major American orchestra to offer downloadable concerts, recorded live, which are available on the DG Concerts label, exclusively on iTunes. Credit Suisse is the exclusive Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.

SEASON 2009/2010