NY Philharmonic Performance History Online For First Time

The New York Philharmonic’s Performance History has gone online for the first time in the Orchestra’s 167-year history. The extensive database will be a resource for those wishing to conduct comprehensive searches or simply to discover interesting tidbits about the New York Philharmonic. The database, named in honor of Carlos Moseley, the Philharmonic’s Chairman Emeritus, can be found at nyphil.org/carlos.

“We have wanted to make this information publicly available for a long time,” said New York Philharmonic Archivist/Historian Barbara Haws. “Not only will it be a wonderful resource for those interested in music history, but the feedback we expect to receive will provide interesting insights for us, and will enrich our understanding of the Philharmonic’s history on a global scale.”

The New York Philharmonic’s performance history contains all concerts, beginning with the very first — on December 7, 1842 — to the most recent. A digital search offers access to every work that has been played; artists, conductors, soloists, and assisting artists who have performed with the Orchestra; and the programs, which can be searched by date, season, location, or event type. Included, in addition to the large-scale concerts, are special events, tours, and chamber music performances.

Over the years the Archives have provided information for countless dissertations, newspaper pieces, biographies, histories, high school essays, and academic journals. With more than 15,000 performances available, online visitors will find concerts from Staten Island to Moscow, from Avery Fisher Hall to Niblo’s Garden, from Young People’s Concerts to Stravinsky festivals. Additional concerts, such as those of the New York Symphony (which merged with the New York Philharmonic in 1928) and others that took place at Lewisohn Stadium, the Philharmonic’s summer home from 1918 to 1962, will be added and updated.

The transfer from 3 x 5 cards to a database began 20 years ago, with information being expanded and improved over the years, mostly through generous support from the Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust and The Charles A. Dana Foundation. The source for most of the entries comes from the vast collection of the Archives’ printed programs, corroborated by newspaper accountants. Visitors who have wondered, for example, who led the world premiere of Dvo?ák’s New World Symphony in 1893, or when the New York Philharmonic last played the Mahler Eighth Symphony, can now find those answers — and thousands more — at the click of a mouse.

Credit Suisse is the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.

Programs of the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.