What is the Purpose? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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New York Drops Off the List Of ‘Big Five' Orchestras

Submitted by Ken, Dec 5, 2006 21:13

I don't understand the purpose of this article. Doe Mr. Kirshnit think he's cutting edge by writing this? Look, we've all known for years that the typical "Top 5" rankings are hogwash. So what. The bottom line is, it doesn't matter. Musicians are of a consistantly higher caliber than they were decades ago. Yes, I do believe the Cincinatti and Pittsburgh Symphonies are better than the New York Philharmonic. You didn't mention the Minnesota Orchestra in your article. They also play as well, if not better than the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh orchestra's - and the wind section is a glory from God.

I also have a complete lack of respect for Mr. Kirshnit. This is due to the fact that I continually read review after review and Mr. Kirshnit is so consistantly different in his opinions than the majority, that it makes me wonder. There is no doubt, what some listeners love, others will hate. Therefore, I look for trends and overall opinions rather than put stock in one specific reviewer. Mr. Kirshnit is almost always the odd-man out so to speak.

As I've said, this article is useless. The ranking don't matter. If this is the author's way of trying to tell the New York Philharmonic that he's had it with them, then why doesn't he just come out and say it? Besides, there's a bigger picture to look at here too. And for arguments sake, let's say the Pittsburgh is a better orchestra. They still don't play as many concerts and don't have as many world-class soloists perform there in any given season as the New York or Boston orchestra's. Budgets, programming, and artists also come into play here in determining what a so-called "top 5" orchestra is.

The logical assumption is that Mr. Kirshnit is based out of New York. Given that, how does he, or any other reviewer, have the expertise to make these judgements for himself? How many Pittsburgh Symphony concerts do you hear in any given season? I would guess maybe one or two if that. That isn't enough to make a qualified decision. I live in Minneapolis. I listen to 15-20 concerts a season by this orchestra. I listen to many other orchestra's as well. As I'm quite sure the orchestra here is equal or better than the ones in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Cleveland - but I'm not ignorant enough to publish this without more first hand experience and knowledge.

In any event, I found this article completely unnecessary and frankly a bit off-base. If the point is to tell readers that the other orchestra's have caught up to the NY's, Boston, etc... Most serious listeners have known that for years, so we don't need one of the worst commentators on the subject telling us this.

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New York Drops Off the List Of ‘Big Five' Orchestras

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New York Drops Off the List Of ‘Big Five' Orchestras