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In Reply to: The silly thing about rating orchestras is ... posted by M. Lucky on February 12, 2007 at 09:13:29:
Last year when I was in Germany and the Netherlands I tried to pack as many concerts in as I could. I saw the Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin State Opera, Netherlands Philharmonic, Gardiner's period instrument orchestra, then a few days later back in the states the Met Opera and Philadelphia Orchestra. Technically everyone was equally excellent. What seemed to matter the most was who was conducting. Interestingly, I saw "Cosi" at the Met (Levine conducting) and BSO within a week of each other. I thought the no name cast at the BSO out did the MET, but that was because the production was far more clever and the BSO hall's small size made the experience more intimate and better suited the music.
Follow Ups:
That's the kind of vacation I'd like to take some year! As it is, I get to see/hear a lot of orchestras when they come to the west coast. But many of the best don't get out here very often!
Next time I want to get an apartment for a month in Vienna and just go to the Musikverein every night since there's practically an orchestral concert given in it every night. The Vienna State Opera is also pretty active, and Prague and Budapest are close. I was going to do it this spring, but my schedule will no longer permit it. I'll probably have to push this plan back to Spring 2009.
conductors make a difference. Seems simple but it's profound.
But part of it is their ability to inspire the musicians. Most of the time the basis for a great performances is if the musicians are having a good time.
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