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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

Hans Rosbaud was one of the best known conductors in Europe, particularly for his pioneering performances of twentieth century music.

He studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where his piano instructor was Alfred Hoehn and his composition instructor Bernhard Sekles. He chose an academic career, becoming director of the State Music School (Städtische Musikschule) in Mainz. There he also frequently conducted the Municipal Orchestra. During his first year there he conducted music by Paul Hindemith, then one of the most rapidly rising young stars in the German music, and a teacher of his for three years, and scheduled other new music.

In 1928 he took the position of Musical Director of Frankfurt Radio, a position he held until 1938; simultaneously he was First Kapellmeister of Frankfurt's Museumgesellschaft concerts. In both positions he made Frankfurt one of the most exciting venues for new music. He frequently scheduled music of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Bartók, Stravinsky, and others. He presented the premiere performances of Schoenberg's Four Songs with Orchestra, Op. 22 (1932),and Bartók's Second Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist (1932). Nazi rule forced him to curtail performances of Jewish composers and those labeled as "cultural Bolsheviks" after 1933. He also shifted to less prominent positions as Generalmusikdirektor in Münster (1937-1941) and in Strasbourg (1941-1944). After the war, he again returned to conducting in a major city, as Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (1945 - 1948).

But his preference was for radio, where he could schedule more innovative concerts and reach a wide audience with modern music. Therefore in 1948 he accepted the position as Chief Conductor of the South-West German Radio Orchestra in Baden-Baden. German radio was based on strong regional companies whose programs were also carried elsewhere in the country. Baden-Baden, with a history as one of the most liberal corners of German and a strong interest in arts, was ideal for Rosbaud's purposes. Furthermore, the identification by the Nazis of their opposition to certain kinds of music gave that music a strong prestige and support among, particularly among the younger audience. These factors, and a sense of a need to learn about music currents that had passed Germany by when Hitler and Goebbels transformed the country into a cultural backwater, combined to create a strong audience for Rosbaud's programming.

He made the provincial orchestra into a strong and precise ensemble, with a lean, anti-Romantic sound. Success on radio led immediately to demand for phonograph recordings. He participated in the first Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1948 and remained associated with it, often appeared in the Donaueschingen Festival, Europe's primary avant-garde music festival (where he supported the music of Boulez, Stockhausen, and their circle), and performed regularly at the annual festivals of the International Society for Contemporary Music. He gave the first performances (concert and staged) of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron. In 1957 he added the position of Music Director of the Zurich Tönhalle Orchestra.

His performances were highly objective, clear, and intellectual, frequently seeming now to lack warmth.