Among the works to be recorded are Bart‹k's Concerto for Orchestra, a piece that the orchestra recorded in 1954, 1963, and 1979 under longtime music director Eugene Ormandy . Others include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Martinu's Memorial to Lidice, and 20th-century Czech composer Gideon Klein's Partita for Strings, as well as not-yet-named works by Mahler. Music director Christoph Eschenbach, who will conduct recorded performances, will also record portions of Tchaikovsky's The Seasons for solo piano.

The recordings will be released in Super Audio CD hybrid format, meaning that they will be able to be played on conventional CD players as well as SACD players.

The contract calls for a minimum of three releases per year, with the first due out this fall. The Philadelphia Orchestra will record and engineer the live recordings, and Ondine will distribute them.

The recording contract, a rarity among major American orchestras, was made possible by an innovative revenue-sharing agreement negotiated with the Philadelphia Orchestra's musicians last fall.