Young People's Concerts
The Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world.
Symphony concerts for young people in New York City (before 1924)
On November 26, 1898, conductor Frank Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra, presented one of the first orchestra concerts in New York City directed at a younger audience, entitled "Symphony Concert for Young People". A year prior, in 1897, Damrosch was named the head of music education for New York City's public schools because of his social mission to teach music to impoverished New Yorkers.Decades later, between 1914–16, the New York Philharmonic's music director Josef Stránský began leading concerts for young people.
Founding of an annual concert series (1924–1939)
The New York Philharmonic's annual "Young People's Concerts" series was founded in 1924 by conductor "Uncle" Ernest Schelling and Mary Williamson Harriman and Elizabeth "Bessie" Mitchell, co-chairs of the Philharmonic's Educational and Children's Concerts Committee. Schelling designed the concerts to encourage a love of music in children, augmenting the music with demonstrations and talks featuring picture slideshows about composers, instruments, history, and other educational topics. Schelling created over 4,000 magic lantern glass slides to showcase a variety of subjects.Beginning in 1930, the Young People's Concerts were broadcast as a parallel feature with the Philharmonic's Sunday concerts on CBS Radio to homes across the United States and in Europe. Schelling and the Philharmonic also went directly into New York City's public schools, presenting "School Day" concerts to young students.
The Young People's Concerts became popular with children and their parents, as well as music lovers of all ages. In his first ten years, Schelling led two series of five to six concerts each season. In addition to presenting concerts for children in New York, Schelling also presented concerts on the road in cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Rotterdam, and London. Schelling conducted the Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic from 1924 until his death in 1939.
After Schelling (1940 to 1958)
Following Schelling's death in 1939, the Young People's Concerts were taken over by Swiss conductor Rudolph Ganz, from 1940 to 1947. Ganz had initially planned six concerts each season at Carnegie Hall, plus a series of three "Elementary", or "Introductory", concerts at New York City's Town Hall for "children with little or no musical training" under the age of nine. However, the Elementary concerts were suspended in 1942 due to World War II and did not resume again until 1947.In 1947, the Young People's Concert Committee held interviews for the series' next conductor. The Committee voted American conductor Walter Hendl, who went on to lead four concerts. Other conductors were vying for the position, including a young Leonard Bernstein, who had only debuted with the Philharmonic four years prior. Bernstein received only three votes and would not conduct a Young People's Concert until he became music director in 1958.
In 1950, American conductor Igor Buketoff was placed at the helm of all the Philharmonic's children's concerts, following his first guest appearance in the role just two years prior.
In 1953, Canadian conductor Wilfrid Pelletier was appointed conductor of the Young People's Concerts. In Pelletier's final season, 1956-17, the elementary series for younger children was dissolved yet again.
Leonard Bernstein on CBS (1958–72)
Leonard Bernstein brought the Young People's Concerts to a new level of popular attention as music director of the New York Philharmonic, beginning in 1958. Bernstein wrote, conducted, and narrated a total of 53 episodes from 1958 to 1972, all of which were telecast on CBS and syndicated in over 40 countries. Reaching millions of families across the United States and around the world, these concerts inspired entire generations of musicians and music lovers.Bernstein's first concert as music director and Conductor, on January 18, 1958, at Carnegie Hall in New York, was the first of these programs to be televised, "What Does Music Mean?" In 1962, the Young People's Concerts became the first series of concerts broadcast live from Lincoln Center. Initially broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays, the concerts eventually moved to primetime before returning to Sunday afternoons.
Although Bernstein left the position of music director in 1969, he continued to lead the Young People's Concerts as Conductor Emeritus until 1972, concluding in March 1972 with a television series finale devoted to Gustav Holst's The Planets.
The series won five Emmy Awards between 1962 and 1966.
| No. | Title | Original airdate | Featured guests | Music Selections |
| 1 | What Does Music Mean? | January 18, 1958 | William Tell Overture ; Don Quixote ; Pastoral Symphony ; Pictures at an Exhibition ; Symphony No 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 ; Symphony No 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 ; Six Pieces ; La Valse | |
| 2 | What is American Music? | February 1, 1958 | Aaron Copland | An American in Paris ; Overture ; New World Symphony ; Dance on Place Congo ; Ragtime ; Rhapsody in Blue ; American Festival Overture ; Symphony No 3 ; Symphony No 2 ; Mother of Us All ; Music for the Theatre ; Billy the Kid ; Symphony No 3 |
| 3 | What is Orchestration? | March 8, 1958 | Capriccio Espagnol Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun ; Rhapsody in Blue ; Brandenburg Concerto No, 5 ; Peter and the Wolf ; American Symphony ; The Soldier's Story ; Boléro | |
| 4 | What Makes Music Symphonic? | December 13, 1958 | Jupiter Symphony in C Major, K.551 ; Symphony No 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 ; Eroica Symphony in E-flat Major, Op. 55 ; Marching song from Bridge Over the River Kwai; I'm All Shook Up ; Romeo and Juliet ; Rhapsody in Blue ; Frère Jacques; Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op. 77 | |
| 5 | What is Classical Music? | January 24, 1959 | Water Music ; Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K.467 ; Brandenburg Concerto No 4 ; Overture to The Marriage of Figaro ; Symphony No 102 in B-flat Major ; Egmont Overture | |
| 6 | Humor in Music | February 28, 1959 | Ballet Music ; Mosquito Dance ; An American in Paris ; Hary Janos Suite ; Symphony No 88 in G Major ; Classical Symphony ; Symphony No 1 in D Major ; A Musical Joke ; Polka from the Golden Age ; Burlesque from Music for the Theater ; Symphony No 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 | |
| 7 | What is a Concerto? | March 28, 1959 | John Corigliano Sr.; John Wummer; William Lincer | Concerto for two Mandolins, Strings and Cembalo in C Major ; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 ; Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat Major, K.364 ; Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 Concerto For Orchestra |
| 8 | Who is Gustav Mahler? | February 7, 1960 | Reri Grist; Helen Raab; William Lewis | Symphony No. 4 in G Major Symphony No 2 in C Minor/E-flat Major; Symphony No 1 in D Major; Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Das Lied von der Erde; |
| 9 | Young Performers No. 1 | March 6, 1960 | Daniel Domb; Kenneth Schermerhorn; Barry Finclair; Stefan B. Mengelberg; Alexandra Wager | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor, Op. 104 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in D Minor Peter and the Wolf |
| 10 | Unusual Instruments of Present, Past, and Future | March 27, 1960 | New York Pro Musica; Noah Greenberg; Vladimir Ussachevsky; Anita Darian | Toccata, "Little Train of Caipira" from Bachianas Brasileiras No 2 ; Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Canzon Septimi Toni, Alta Concerted piece for Tape Recorder and Orchestra Concerto for a Singing Instrument |
| 11 | The Second Hurricane | April 24, 1960 | High School of Music & Art | The Second Hurricane |
| 12 | Overtures and Preludes | January 8, 1961 | Semiramide Overture ; Leonore Overture No. 3 ; Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun ; Candide Overture | |
| 13 | Aaron Copland Birthday Party | February 12, 1961 | Aaron Copland; William Warfield | An Outdoor Overture ; Dance from Music for the Theatre Grovers Corners Our Town ; Hoe-down from Rodeo ; Grovers Corners Our Town Dogmatic from Statements for Orchestra Boatmen's Dance and I Bought me a Cat from Old American Songs El Salon Mexico |
| 14 | Young Performers No. 2 | March 19, 1961 | Lynn Harrell; Elyakum Shapirra; Jung-Ja Kim; Russell Stanger; Veronica Tyler; Gregory Millar; Henry Chapin | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor, Op. 104 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11 Mimi's Farewell from La Boheme and Hello, Hello, from The Telephone The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra |
| 15 | Folk Music in the Concert Hall | April 9, 1961 | Marni Nixon | Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K.543 Sinfonia India Songs of the Auvergne Symphony No. 2 |
| 16 | What is Impressionism? | November 23, 1961 | Voiles from Piano Preludes, Bk. I; Poissons D'or from Images, Set II; La Puerta del Vino from Preludes, Bk. II; Golliwogg's Cakewalk from Children's Corner; La Mer Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2 | |
| 17 | The Road to Paris | January 18, 1962 | Zara Nelsova | An American in Paris ; Schelomo Two Dances from The Three Cornered Hat |
| 18 | Happy Birthday, Igor Stravinsky | March 26, 1962 | Greeting Prelude Petrouchka | |
| 19 | Young Performers No. 3 | April 14, 1962 | Seiji Ozawa; Gary Karr; Maurice Peress; John Canarina; Ruth & Naomi Segal; Paula Robison; Paul Green; Tony Cirone; David Hopper | Overture to The Marriage of Figaro Prayer Fantasy on a Theme from the Opera "Moses in Egypt" by Rossini The Carnival of the Animals |
| 20 | The Sound of a Hall | November 21, 1962 | Shirley Verrett; John Corigliano, Sr.; Frank Gullino; Joseph Bernstein; William Dembinsky | The Roman Carnival Overture The Little Horses from Old American Songs Concerto for Four Violins and String Orchestra Op. 3, No. 10 Tango_Pasodoble from Facade 1812 Overture |
| 21 | What is a Melody? | December 21, 1962 | Prelude to Tristan and Isolde ; Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550 ; Concerto Music for Strings and Brass, Op. 50 ; Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98. | |
| 22 | Young Performers No. 4 | January 15, 1963 | Joan Weiner; Yuri Krasnopolsky; Claudia Hoca; Zoltán Rozsnyai; Pamela Paul; Serge Fournier; André Watts | Piano Concerto in A Major, K.488 and Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major |
| 23 | The Latin American Spirit | March 8, 1963 | Netania Davrath | Batuque ; Bachianas Brasileiras Nn 5 Sensemaya ; Danzon Cubano ; Symphonic Dances from West Side Story |
| 24 | A Tribute to Teachers | 29 November 1963 | Prelude to Khovantschina ; Symphony No. 2 in E Minor ; Suite from the Incredible Flutist ; Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. | |
| 25 | Young Performers No. 5 | December 23, 1963 | Heidi Lehwalder; Amos Eisenberg; Weldon Berry, Jr.; Claudio Abbado; Shulamit Ran; Pedro Calderon; Stephen E. Kates; Zdeněk Košler | Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in B-flat Major, Op. 4, No. 6 Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and Strings Cappriccio for Piano and Orchestra Rhapsody No. 1 William Tell Overture |
| 26 | The Genius of Paul Hindemith | February 23, 1964 | String Quartet No. 1; Kleine Kammermusik, Op. 24, No. 2; Mathis der Maler | |
| 27 | Jazz in the Concert Hall | March 11, 1964 | Richard Davis, Don Ellis, Benny Golson, Eric Dolphy, Joseph Cocuzzo, Gunther Schuller; Aaron Copland | Journey into Jazz Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists. |
| 28 | What is Sonata Form? | November 6, 1964 | Veronica Tyler | Jupiter Symphony in C Major, K.551 ; Micaela's Aria from Carmen Piano Sonata in C Major, K.545 ; Classical Symphony |
| 29 | Farewell to Nationalism | November 30, 1964 | Seymour Lipkin | Prelude to Die Meistersinger ; Mazurka in B-flat Major ; Sempre Libera from La Traviata ; Symphony no. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 ; Sonata for Flute and Harpsichord in G Minor Concerto for Flute, Bassoon, Violin and Bass No. 41 in G Minor ; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 ; Five Pieces for Orchestra Op. 10, No. 1 ; Pieces for Prepared Piano And String Quartet ; Composition for Twelve Instruments ; Incontri fuer 24. Instrumente ; Battle Hymn of the Republic ; Yankee Doodle; The Moldau ; Suite No. 1 ; Fourth of July ; Russian Sailor's Dance ; Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean. |
| 30 | Young Performers No. 6 | January 28, 1965 | Patricia Michaelian; James Buswell IV | Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K.466 ; Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 Mother Goose Suite |
| 31 | A Tribute to Sibelius | February 19, 1965 | Sergiu Luca | Finlandia; Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 |
| 32 | Musical Atoms: A Study of Intervals | November 29, 1965 | Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin ; The Blue Danube ; Help ; Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 ; Symphony No. 4 in F Minor | |
| 33 | The Sound of an Orchestra | December 14, 1965 | Symphony No. 88 in G Major ; Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 ; Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 ; Iberia ; The Royal March from L'Histoire du Soldat ; An American in Paris ; Hoedown from Rodeo. | |
| 34 | A Birthday Tribute to Shostakovich | January 5, 1966 | Leningrad Symphony in C Major, Op. 60 Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 | |
| 35 | Young Performers No. 7 | February 22, 1966 | Paul Schoenfield; Stephanie Sebastian; David Oei; Horacio Gutiérrez; James DePreist; Jacques Houtmann; Edo de Waart | Pictures at an Exhibition and |
| 36 | What Is a Mode? | November 23, 1966 | Fetes from Nocturnes Scheherazade Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 ; Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104 ; the Sunken Cathedral from Preludes ; Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 Fancy Free ; | |
| 37 | Young Performers No. 8 | January 27, 1967 | Elmar Oliveira; Mark Salkind; Fred Alston; Donald Green; Juan Pablo Izquierdo; Sylvia Caduff; Stephen Dominko; George Reid; Young Uck Kim | Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat Major Accordion arrangement of Piano Concerto no. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21 Diesen heil'gen Halle from The Magic Flute Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61 |
| 38 | Charles Ives: American Pioneer | February 23, 1967 | Simon Estes | The Gong on the Hook and the Ladder ; Washington's Birthday from Holidays Symphony; The Circus Band-Parade ; Lincoln, the Great Commoner the Unanswered Question |
| 39 | Alumni Reunion | April 19, 1967 | Stephen E. Kates; Veronica Tyler; André Watts | Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 Mi chiamano Mimi from La Boheme and My Man's Gone Now from Porgy and Bess Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 |
| 40 | A Toast to Vienna in Time | December 25, 1967 | Christa Ludwig; Walter Berry | Wiener Blut ; German Dance No. 3, K.605 and Jupiter Symphony in C Major, K.551 ; Symphony No. 7 in A Major, op. 92 ; Das Knaben Wunderhorn Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier. |
| 41 | Forever Beethoven | January 28, 1968 | Joseph Kalichstein; Paul Capolongo | Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, op. 58 Leonore Overture No. 3 |
| 42 | Young Performers No. 9 | March 31, 1968 | Lawrence Foster; Alois Springer; Martin and Steven Vann; Helen Quach | Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber Original weber Version: |
| 43 | Quiz-Concert: How Musical Are You? | May 26, 1968 | Overture to The Marriage of Figaro ; Classical Symphony ; Capriccio Espagnol ; Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68. | |
| 44 | Fantastic Variations | December 25, 1968 | Lorne Munroe | Don Quixote |
| 45 | Bach Transmogrified | April 27, 1969 | Michael Korn; Leopold Stokowski; Moog synthesizer; David Nadien; Julius Baker; New York Rock & Roll Ensemble | Little Organ Fugue in G Minor : Original Version Transcription for Orchestra Moog Synthesizer Version ; Violin Partita in E Major Phorion |
| 46 | Berlioz Takes a Trip | May 25, 1969 | Symphonie Fantastique | |
| 47 | Two Ballet Birds | Swan Lake and Firebird Suite | ||
| 48 | Fidelio: A Celebration of Life | March 29, 1970 | Forest Warren; Anita Darian; Howard Ross; David Cumberland | Fidelio |
| 49 | The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra | May 24, 1970 | Pini di Roma | |
| 50 | A Copland Celebration | December 27, 1970 | Stanley Drucker | Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra Suite from Billy the Kid |
| 51 | Thus Spake Richard Strauss | April 4, 1971 | Also Sprach Zarathustra | |
| 52 | Liszt and the Devil | February 13, 1972 | Faust Symphony | |
| 53 | Holst: The Planets | March 26, 1972 | The Planets |
Kultur International Films released Volume I on DVD in 2004 and Volume II on DVD in 2013. Each volume contains more than twenty hours of concerts.
International stage (1972–present)
Following their international rise to fame in the Bernstein era, the Young People's Concerts were subsequently presented by the New York Philharmonic on tour in concert halls throughout the world. The series began to expand its artistic leadership to develop a collective vision for its future.Following Bernstein's final Young People's Concert in 1972, Michael Tilson Thomas regularly led the series, in addition to conductors such as Erich Leinsdorf, Pierre Boulez, Igor Buketoff, Zubin Mehta, Aaron Copland, Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, André Previn, Thomas Wilkins, and Jaap van Zweden.
In 2008, the New York Philharmonic was presenting four Young People's Concerts each season, in addition to concerts on tour to cities like Hong Kong. American conductor Delta David Gier hosted and led the programs and playwright Tom Dulack scripted them, which were themed as a unit and, as Schelling pioneered decades earlier, the live performances were complemented by live images projected on a large screen.
As of 2024, the New York Philharmonic continues to present four Young People's Concerts each season. The contemporary concerts are thematically programmed, focusing on 21st century issues like climate change, immigration, and social justice. The performances are complemented by live image and video projections, guest actors, dancers, singers, and community partners, with an interdisciplinary approach that brings elements like science, fantasy, and hip hop into the orchestra. These concerts have been streamed online for international audiences.