 This was to fulfill a commission from Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, which was originally to have been for a never-completed work titled "Projektion".The world premiere of the "Third Region with Orchestra" was given by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Stockhausen in Philharmonic Hall, New York, on 25 February 1971 as part of a special non-subscription concert of the New York Philharmonic, together with the American premiere of the other three regions of "Hymnen" in the version with soloists .The programme, which started fifteen minutes late due to an unprecedented demand for tickets, lasted for three hours (with two intervals) and was "the longest Philharmonic concert of the last generation, and, for all we know, in Philharmonic history" (; ).