New York Philharmonic Debuted on This Date in 1842

So, what symphony did the New York Philharmonic play at their first public concert 170 years ago on this Date?  Beethoven's Fifth, of course.  American-born conductor Ureli Corelli Hill led the ensemble on December 7, 1842 in the Apollo Rooms on lower Broadway with an audience of about 600 people.  Since that time, the New York Philharmonic has established itself as one of the great orchestras of the world and is consistently in the top five in the United States, and many would say the country's top orchestra. This evening on Symphony @ 7, we'll feature a recording from 1961 with that great orchestra and its most famous music director, Leonard Bernstein. For good measure, the recording features Bernstein conducting his own music in the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. As we say a Happy 170th to the New York Phil, here's just a bit from the beginning of this season's opening night gala in September. http://youtu.be/Pzt4hW5MRHk And here, the newest music director of the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, leads the orchestra in Beethoven while on tour in Tokyo. http://youtu.be/wkOFU0XCdpI