U.S. Symphony Orchestras

Onhwy61,
Thanks for the top 20 list. I'm not qualified to judge such things, but that never stopped me before! I guess the list as a whole looked about right to me, with one glaring exception. How is it possible that the Philadelphia did not make the top 20? Are things that bad there? Oh, those strings! Other than that, I guess I wouldn't have put the LSO in the top five, I would have moved Cleveland up to five ahead of Chicago (of course). Hard to argue too much with the Concertgebouw, Berlin, and Vienna. I'd have moved up the Dresden and Liepzig a good bit.
GSM and I are on the same page.

Learsfool, to you sir and your colleagues-- Hats off! You guys make this trying existence tolerable, and on a good day, you show us a glimpse of heaven!

Just something to show the 'type' of thing I was talking about.

The Nutcracker shown back in DEC 2011 on PBS. It was sort of like a dance contest, a different ballet company every night. All performing the Nutcracker. I LOVED it. I have never had the slightest interest in Ballet, other than the music, but I was STUNNED at how much I enjoyed it. Two people explaining between acts and after the final, made the entire night. This is another example of how to get the public interested. Put it on TV with 'hosts' (that are well known to the public at large) to explain as the concert is going on. Between movements. BTW, a few years ago, the BOLSHOI even found the time and interest to come to my neck of woods. I didn't attend. After the PBS thingy, I can't wait for another chance. Still waiting for the top American stuff to show up.

MartyK1: I agree with you. I think that public support of the arts is also cyclical - and not just related to the vagarities of the economy. Right now we are in an anti-intellectual phase.

Slipknot1: You also make great points. (1) There is a significant difference between the US and Europe regarding governmental support of the arts; there seems to be little public sentiment for public government support of orchestras in the US - at least now. (2) A Board of Directors of any organization - not just an orchestra - is supposed work for the organization in return for the prestige of the board seat. This involves raising money, being an ambassador for the organization, etc. Too often, board seats become an entitlement.

Rok2id: Your comment reminded me of Leonard Bernstein's Young Peoples Concerts. He made classical music come alive - even just using the medium of the small black and white televisions available at the time. I suspect that the impact of that series lasted a long time. At his best, Leonard Slatkin can sometimes display a hint of Bernstein's ability to communicate with an audience.

"Symphony in C", previously known as the "Haddonfield Symphony" in New Jersey is missing.

Oops, should have read as missing from the list.