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Celebrating 125 years of The Philadelphia Orchestra

Notable Composers

From Sergei Rachmaninoff to Florence Price, The Philadelphia Orchestra has inspired, premiered, and championed music by some of the world’s greatest composers. 

Richard Strauss

The Philadelphia Orchestra has a long history with the music of Richard Strauss, both in performance and on recordings. The great German composer conducted the Orchestra during his 1904 U.S. tour in Philadelphia and Boston, and again in 1921 at home and in New York.

Jean Sibelius

The Philadelphia Orchestra brought audiences into the sound world of Sibelius, introducing his later symphonies to America—Nos. 5, 6, and 7. On their 1955 European tour, Eugene Ormandy and the entire Orchestra visited the composer at his home in Finland, a historic meeting of artists across continents.

Igor Stravinsky

The Orchestra has championed Igor Stravinsky’s groundbreaking music, giving the U.S. premieres of The Rite of Spring (both concert and staged versions), Song of the Nightingale, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and the staged version of Oedipus Rex. Stravinsky himself stepped to the podium to conduct the Philadelphians several times between 1925 and 1964.

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich traveled to Philadelphia in 1959 for the U.S. premiere and first recording of his Cello Concerto No. 1, performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The Orchestra also introduced American audiences to nine of his major works and made several world-premiere recordings, including Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, and 6 under Leopold Stokowski. The Ormandy-led recording of the Symphony No. 13 was the work’s first in the Western Hemisphere.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Rachmaninoff forged a legendary bond with The Philadelphia Orchestra that shaped his legacy as composer, pianist, and conductor. After emigrating from Russia in 1917, he wrote six more major works—five specifically for the Philadelphians, including the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Symphonic Dances. He also recorded his piano concertos and orchestral works with the ensemble, calling it “the greatest orchestra in the world.” This extraordinary partnership remains one of the most significant chapters in the Orchestra’s history. 

Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber, born just outside Philadelphia in West Chester, studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and quickly formed a deep connection with the Orchestra. As a student, he composed the Overture to The School for Scandal, his first orchestral work, premiered by the Philadelphians in 1933—the first of seven Orchestra premieres of his works. Seven years later, Ormandy and the Orchestra unveiled Barber’s Violin Concerto with soloist Albert Spalding. Today, his Adagio for Strings remains a touchstone, performed on every Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert since 2006, paired with Charlotte Blake Alston reading from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Aaron Copland

In 1976, Aaron Copland stepped onto the podium to conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), joined by the legendary contralto and Philadelphian Marian Anderson narrating Lincoln Portrait. Anderson partnered with the Orchestra on this work three other times: twice at SPAC and once at Philadelphia’s Robin Hood Dell. 

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut at the Academy of Music in 1948, in a program that sparkled with firsts: Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (a first for the Orchestra), Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G (which Bernstein led from the keyboard), and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. Decades later, in 2019, Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the Orchestra’s first complete performances of Bernstein’s Candide, narrated by Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, who would later portray Bernstein and his wife in the blockbuster 2023 film Maestro. 

Jennifer Higdon

The Philadelphia Orchestra premiered Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra in 2002, one of eight works commissioned by Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Orchestra for the ensemble’s centennial. This marked the first time the ensemble had performed her music; a few years later, she was named composer-in-residence, solidifying her place in the Orchestra’s story.

Wynton Marsalis

Trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1984 performing Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. By the 1990s, he expanded his career into composition, and the Orchestra premiered his Tuba Concerto with Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch in 2021. In 2026, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestra give the world premiere of his Symphony No. 5 (“Liberty”). Both works are co-commissions. The ensemble also recorded his Violin Concerto and Blues Symphony, continuing a rich partnership.

Valerie Coleman

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestra commissioned Valerie Coleman’s Seven O’Clock Shout in 2020 to honor frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, premiering it virtually. To date, the Orchestra has commissioned her five times, including her Concerto for Orchestra and Fanfare for Marian, written for the dedication of Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center.

William Grant Still

Leopold Stokowski championed the music of William Grant Still, leading the world premiere of his Symphony No. 2 (“Song of a New Race”) in 1937 on Philadelphia Orchestra concerts. “He is one of our greatest American composers,” Stokowski declared.

Florence Price

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestra champion the rediscovered music of Florence Price, a groundbreaking Black-American composer. Their 2022 Deutsche Grammophon recording of her Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 won the GRAMMY® for Best Orchestral Performance (the Orchestra’s first), bringing her once-forgotten music to audiences worldwide.

Alban Berg

The Philadelphia Orchestra presented the U.S. premiere of Alban Berg’s haunting opera Wozzeck with Leopold Stokowski in 1931. Anticipating the event, the New York Times wrote: “It is not the first time that the curious opera-goer of New York has found it advisable to make the trip to Philadelphia in order to hear important operatic novelties.”

Maurice Ravel

The Orchestra brought Maurice Ravel’s music to U.S. audiences, giving the premiere of his jazzy Piano Concerto in G in 1932 with soloist Sylvan Levin and Stokowski, and Une Barque sur l’océan in 1953 with Eugene Ormandy. The Second Suite from Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe has become one of the most-performed works in the Orchestra’s repertoire. 

Benjamin Britten

In 1947, Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra give the U.S. premiere of Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a piece that has since become a beloved staple of educational concerts around the world.