Gramophone "20 Greatest Orchestras." List...

[grahamroese]

[ ]

[Rick Denney]

I also heard the NPR report and thought it a more reasonable discussion than usually follows such lists. One of the highlights was the notion that orchestras were rewarded more for staying true to their unique qualities than for just being flawless. Character counted more than precision.

Of course it's subjective.

If the result is that people start buying more and different recordings of orchestras outside their usual comfort zone, then no harm can come from it.

The purpose of good criticism, it seems to me, is not to criticize, but to critique. When I read a critical review, I want it to tell me why I should be listening to something, not why I shouldn't. Too many critics follow the sports journalist mold of commentary on the play of the game rather than promoting what's valuable in the music. That can be done without cheerleading, which is another fault shared by some critics. As C. S. Lewis put it, good criticism opens the reader to new horizons. Too many critics want to appear to be skeptics to the point of being cynical, which sometimes makes me wonder if they even like music.

A list like this (and the commentary it engenders) can have those effects, even to the extent of encouraging people to pay greater attention to their favorite orchestras who were not on the list.

Rick "whose has some favorites not on the list" Denney

[ZNC Dandy]

Good discussion so far on the merits of this list. I agree with most of it, although one glaring omission I noticed was the:

Orchestre de Paris, check this out. What an ensemble!

Polovtsian Dances
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKby0sYmf4" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYx_ewGX ... re=related" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Robert Simmons]

Orchestre de Paris! What an energetic, virtuoso performance!

[ZNC Dandy]

Also pretty dumbfounded how the Lucerne Festival Orchestra was overlooked?