Although new and innovative work has long been a part of Carnegie Hall’s fabric—the world premieres of such now-standard works as Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and Gershwin’s An American in Paris took place at the Hall—it was only recently that The Carnegie Hall Corporation actively began its own commissioning program. Carnegie Hall’s first two commissioned works were Leonard Bernstein’s Opening Prayer, premiered by the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta in December 1986, and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (commissioned jointly by Carnegie Hall, the Detroit Symphony, and the American Symphony Orchestra League) by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, which was premiered at Carnegie Hall in January 1987.

In the 1990–1991 season, Carnegie Hall’s commissioning program was institutionalized through the Centennial Commissioning Project, a series of thirteen commemorative commissions honoring the Hall’s landmark hundredth season. Thirteen major composers, nine of them Americans, were matched with great artists to form a diverse array of premiere performances of works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and voice.

Since then, Carnegie Hall has regularly commissioned new works, ranging from solos to large orchestral pieces. Commissions have also included over 125 new arrangements for jazz band from 1992 to 2002. In recent seasons, Carnegie Hall has commissioned a significant number of works, 19 in the 2006–2007 season alone, and presented world premieres by Elliott Carter, David Del Tredici, Bill Frisell, Osvaldo Golijov, Michael Gordon, Brad Mehldau, Meredith Monk, André Previn, Kaija Saariaho, and Charles Wuorinen, among others.