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The Experience
Hear what it is like to play in the
New York Philharmonic
and view general statistics.

 

History

The New York Philharmonic is the oldest orchestra in America, and it has maintained excellence since its founding in 1842. The first concert was given on December 7, 1842, and the show was conducted by Ureli Corelli Hill. Hill was an American-born conductor, and this enabled the United States to compete on a world level musically with other countries especially the talents that were present in Europe. The Philharmonic celebrated it's 150th Anniversary during the 1992-1993 season. On March 15th, 1996, they performed its 12,500 concert. This is a milestone which is yet to be matched by any other performing orchestra. The Philharmonic has been conducted by a very elite group of directors including Thomas, Mahler, Bernstein, Mehta, and Masur. These conductors along with others helped shape American music, and continue the tradition that was started when the Philharmonic was founded.


Previous Music Directors, Music Advisors and Principal Conductors of the New York Philharmonic include:

Ureli Corelli Hill (1842-1847)
Theodore Eisfeld (1848-1865)
Carl Bergmann (1855-1876)
Leopold Damrosch (1876-1877)
Theodore Thomas (1877-1891)
Anton Seidl (1891-1898)
Emil Paur (1898-1902)
Walter Damrosch (1902-1903)
Wassily Safonoff (1906-1909)
Gustav Mahler (1909-1911)
Josef Stransky (1911-1923)
Willem Mengelberg (1922-1930)
Arturo Toscanini (1928-1936)
John Barbirolli (1936-1941)
Artur Rodzinski (1943-1947)
Bruno Walter (1947-1949)
Leopold Stokowski (1949-1950)
Dimitri Mitropoulos (1949-1958)
Leonard Bernstein (1958-1969)
George Szell (1969-1970)
Pierre Boulez (1971-1977)
Zubin Mehta (1978-1991)
Kurt Masur (1991-present)


1997 Statistics:

107 contracted musicians (71 men, 32 women, 4 open)
Musician's contract: 52 weeks
Annual operating budget: more than $35 million
Sources of funding:
Ticket sales, royalties, fees: 52%
Annual fund-raising campaign: 29%
Government (city, state, federal): 2%
Investment income: 17%

Click Here to visit the official web-site!