| Historic Premieres | |
| 1947 | Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (U.S.) |
| 1946 | Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements (World) |
| 1925 | Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F (World) |
| 1909 | Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (World) |
| 1908 | Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (U.S.) |
| 1904 | Mahler: Symphony No. 4 (U.S.) |
| 1894 | Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique" (U.S.) |
| 1893 | Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" (World) |
| 1892 | R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration (U.S.) |
| 1889 | Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D (U.S.) |
| 1886 | Brahms: Symphony No. 4 (U.S.) |
| 1881 | Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 (World) |
| 1876 | Wagner: Die Walküre, Act I (U.S.) |
| 1876 | Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture - Fantasy (U.S.) |
| 1866 | Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (U.S.) |
| 1846 | Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (U.S.) |
| 1844 | Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 (U.S.) |
Placing newer compositions alongside established classics has historically been one of the Philharmonic's responsibilities to its community. The New York Philharmonic is also well known as a leader in contemporary programming and commissioning. The first work written expressly for the Philharmonic Society of New York was Frederick Schneider's Symphony, performed in 1854. The first work commissioned by the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York (the combined Orchestra) was Philip James's overture Bret Harte, which premiered on December 20, 1936.
During the 1962-63 season, its first at Lincoln Center, the Philharmonic instituted its first large-scale commissioning series. A second series in 1967-68 marked the Orchestra's 125th anniversary. The 150th Anniversary Commissions represented the most ambitious commissioning project in the Orchestra's history, with 36 new works commissioned.
The 2003-04 season featured two World Premiere-New York Philharmonic Commissions: Stephen Hartke's Symphony No. 3, and Poul Ruders' Final Nightshade, in addition to the U.S. premieres of Mark-Anthony Turnage's A Quick Blast, and Henri Dutilleux's Sur le même accord (Nocturne for Violin and Orchestra). In the 2004-05 season the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered Wolfgang Rihm's Two Other Movements; Augusta Read Thomas's Gathering Paradise: Emily Dickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra; and Mark-Anthony Turnage's Scherzoid.
In the 2005-06 season, the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered John Harbison's Milosz Songs for Soprano and Orchestra; and in the 2006-07 season, the Orchestra gave first performances of two commissions: Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto and Melinda Wagner's Trombone Concerto.
