The NY Phil Story: Made in New York

April 29th, 1865: Fifteen days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Philharmonic paid tribute to the late president with the Funeral March from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Beethoven intended this work to honor Napoleon — but ripped out the dedication page when Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France. Now, the symphony merely known as “Eroica” (or “heroic”) is fitting music to honor any national leader or heroic figure.

Later, in the wake of an all-too-familiar tragedy, students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reached out to two New York Philharmonic musicians. Clarinetist Anthony McGill, trombonist Joseph Alessi, and former band director of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Alex Kaminsky discuss how music helped console a community in the face of violence and loss.

The NYPhil Story: Made in New York production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Helena de Groot, Sapir Rosenblatt, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, Eileen Delahunty, Christine Herskovits, Natalia Ramirez, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes: George Wellington and Ed Haber. Production assistance from: Ben James, and Jac Phillimore and Mary Mathis. Special thanks to Monica Parks, Adam Crane, Gabe Smith, and the New York Public Radio Archives.

This episode contains discussions of self-harm and school violence. If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, help is available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. And if you’re outside the U.S., you can visit findahelpline.com to find resources for your country. You can also find free multilingual trauma resources online from the Child Mind Institute.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com

Do we know when we’re living through history? In 1893, New Yorkers gathered outside Carnegie Hall to hear the ground-breaking premiere of composer Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, better known as the “New World Symphony.” One of the most hotly anticipated premieres in musical history, it was delivered in the midst of a national debate over what a distinctly “American” classical music should sound like — and it was destined to become one of the most beloved works in Western classical repertoire. Over a century later, the NY Phil performed the same work a world away in Pyongyang, North Korea, once again making history, and revisiting those same questions of what it means to perform American music — and how music, regardless of its origin, can serve as a bridge between peoples.

The NYPhil Story: Made in New York production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Helena de Groot, Sapir Rosenblatt, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, Eileen Delahunty, Christine Herskovits, Natalia Ramirez, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes: George Wellington and Ed Haber. Production assistance from: Ben James, and Jac Phillimore and Mary Mathis. Special thanks to Monica Parks, Adam Crane, Gabe Smith, and the New York Public Radio Archives.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com

After almost three years of pop-up outdoor performances and playing in venues around the city, the NY Phil came home to a newly renovated David Geffen Hall in October of 2022. Part of Lincoln Center, the hall originally opened in 1962 to acclaim and controversy on the former site of the San Juan Hill Neighborhood. In this first season back, the NY Phil and Lincoln Center paid tribute to a lost community with a new commission by Etienne Charles.

Learn more about David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, home of the New York Philharmonic. On August 23, 2023, this episode was updated to include additional details about the Afro-Caribbean population of San Juan Hill and the workers contracted to rebuild David Geffen Hall.

The NYPhil Story: Made in New York production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Helena de Groot, Sapir Rosenblatt, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, Eileen Delahunty, Christine Herskovits, Natalia Ramirez, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes: George Wellington and Ed Haber. Production assistance from: Ben James, and Jac Phillimore and Mary Mathis. Additional audio provided by NYC Municipal Archives. Special thanks to Monica Parks, Adam Crane, Gabe Smith, and the New York Public Radio Archives.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com

The story is a classic in the gilded halls of symphonic music: someone falls ill and a young performer must step in at the last moment. For Leonard Bernstein, that happened live on the radio. During his career as the director of the New York Philharmonic, he advanced the orchestra’s legacy of providing first-rate music to New Yorkers, and eventually to the nation through the televised broadcasts of his Young People’s Concerts. The Phil continues that tradition today with their summer events playing concerts in the parks around the city.

The NYPhil Story: Made in New York production team includes Lauren Purcell-Joiner, Helena de Groot, Sapir Rosenblatt, Laura Boyman, Elizabeth Nonemaker, Eileen Delahunty, Christine Herskovits, Natalia Ramirez, and Ed Yim. Our engineering team includes: George Wellington and Ed Haber. Production assistance from: Ben James, and Jac Phillimore and Mary Mathis. Special thanks to Monica Parks, Adam Crane, Gabe Smith, and the New York Public Radio Archives. Audio footage from Young People's Concerts - Courtesy of CBS Broadcasting Inc.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com

For more than 180 years, the New York Philharmonic has been making history in one of the world’s cultural capitals. The NY Phil Story: Made in New York is a podcast about the people, the music, and the city behind America’s oldest orchestra. Host Jamie Bernstein takes you backstage and into the archives to hear the untold stories of the Philharmonic — right from the very beginning. Each episode, we’ll go behind the scenes of an iconic performance, speak to current Philharmonic musicians about how they carry on the orchestra’s legacy, and hear the music that inspired it all.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: nyphilstory.com