MUSICIANS FROM THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic plays a leading cultural role in New York City, the United States, and the world. Each season the Orchestra connects with millions of music lovers through live concerts in New York and beyond, as well as broadcasts, recordings, and education programs. Gustavo Dudamel becomes the NY Phil’s Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music and Artistic Director Designate in September 2025, before beginning his tenure as Music and Artistic Director in the autumn of 2026.

The 2025–26 season offers a preview of the era to come, with Dudamel conducting works that reflect on the United States in the nation’s 250th anniversary year, including three World Premieres: a work by Leilehua Lanzilotti, David Lang’s The Wealth of Nations (the result of his being named a 2024 winner of the Orchestra’s Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music), and new orchestrations of Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated by more than a dozen of today’s leading composers. Dudamel also leads the New York Premiere of Ellen Reid’s work for chorus and orchestra, co-commissioned in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; collaborates with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra; and conducts the Spring Gala concert. The Philharmonic also welcomes cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, appearing on two subscription programs and an Artist Spotlight recital with pianist Isata Kanneh- Mason, his sister. The NY Phil honors former Music Director Pierre Boulez’s centennial through consecutive programs featuring selections from Boulez’s Notations, performed by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and a staged performance of Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, commissioned in partnership with the LA Phil and Opéra de Paris. Other highlights include the return of composer-conductor Thomas Adès, who leads a work he composed for the NY Phil in 1999, and the World Premiere of an NY Phil commission by George Lewis — one of the season’s 19 World, US, and New York Premieres.

The New York Philharmonic’s legacy of commissioning and/or premiering works by leading composers runs from Dvořák’s New World Symphony to two Pulitzer Prize winners: John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls and Tania León’s Stride, commissioned through Project 19, which is supporting the creation of works by 19 women composers. The Orchestra has released more than 2,000 recordings since 1917, including the live recording of Julia Wolfe’s Grammy-nominated Fire in My Mouth.

In 2023 the NY Phil announced a partnership with Apple Music Classical, the standalone music streaming app designed to deliver classical music lovers the optimal listening experience. The nationally syndicated radio program The New York Philharmonic This Week features the Philharmonic’s recent performances and commercial recordings complemented by interviews and archival highlights. The Orchestra’s extensive history is available free online through the New York Philharmonic Shelby White & Leon Levy Digital Archives.

A resource for its community and the world, the Orchestra complements the annual free Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and the Free Concert at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Presented by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, with the Phil for All: Ticket Access Program. The NY Phil’s impactful education projects include the Young People’s Concerts, Very Young People’s Concerts, and the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program. The Orchestra has appeared in 436 cities in 63 countries, including Pyongyang, DPRK, in 2008 — the first visit there by an American orchestra — as well as, in 2024, the first visit to mainland China by a US orchestra since the COVID-19 pandemic, a tour that included education activities as part of the tenth anniversary of the NY Phil–Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership.

The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Notable figures who have conducted the Philharmonic include Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, and Copland. Distinguished conductors who have served as Music Director include Bernstein, Toscanini, and Mahler.