The New York Philharmonic is obsessed with its own history, to the extent that it keeps a running count of all the concerts it has ever performed in its program book. The continual focus on the ensemble’s venerable status has a purpose, though: in a city as culturally rich as the Big Apple, it takes a lot to impress the populace, and the Phil counts on its status as an American original to bolster its modern reputation as one of the country’s top orchestras.