The New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest in the world, has played a leading role in American musical life since its founding in 1842.

Each season the Orchestra connects with up to 50 million music lovers through live concerts in New York and around the world; international broadcasts on television, radio, and online; Decca Gold albums and digital recordings; and education programs.

As a champion of the new music of its time, the Philharmonic has commissioned and / or premiered works by leading composers from every era since its founding. Highlights include the World Premieres of Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Gershwin’s Concerto in F, and Berio’s Sinfonia, as well as the US Premieres of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4.

A resource for its community and the world, the New York Philharmonic complements annual free concerts across the city — including the Concerts in the Parks, which celebrated 50 years in the summer of 2015 — with Philharmonic Free Fridays, which offers free tickets to young people ages 13 to 26. The Orchestra has continued its famed Young People’s Concerts (ages 6–12), which began in 1924, and subsequently developed Very Young People’s Concerts (ages 3–6) and Young People’s Concerts for Schools (grades 3–12).