How do they MIC a symphony?

To my knowledge, there is no one method that is standardized. Most of the more modern recordings will be multi-miked with many mikes placed all around the orchestra. Then this is all mixed together in the mixing booth.

Back in the good old days, when they knew better, they placed a single pair of Neumann tube mikes suspended from wires above the audience's head at about the 6th row. One for each channel, from the prime listening position. This is a super way to mike, because all the stereo information is phased correctly, and needs no "playing around" in the mixing booth. You actually hear the instruments in their proper positions in the orchestra, and they are correctly balanced just the way you would have heard the performance live. Many of the old Mercury Living Presence recordings were done this way, and that's why people want them so much. Sure, there were other limitations, but the presentation was correct, at least. I can't listen to many of the newer multi-miked classical recordings because they have the instruments imaged out of whack.

Another way is that the orchestra is spaced further apart on the stage during a recording session (the SFO at Davies Hall does this) in order to provide a wide soundstage and the illusion of correct instrument placement, which is purported to be difficult to achieve with the orchestra in the normal position.

If you want to hear "rustling" buy a Glenn Gould solo performance. His Goldberg Variations are a classicof interpretation and sing-along.

Each record label has its own preferred miking. Twl is correct, before they knew any better companies like RCA and Mercury did it right with minimal arrays (Merc just used three spaced mikes across the front of the orchestra); gradually RCA started using more and more mikes in the later years of, and after, its legendary Living Stereo series. Columbia/CBS, after a while, became obsessed with multi-miking, and Deutsche Grammaphon has always multi-miked orchestras, running everything through a mixing console acording to the Tonmeister's taste. Telarc is fairly minimalist, using spaced omnis and a spot mike for soloists, which some don't like because it doesn't provide pinpoint imaging multi-miking can do. London/Decca has a triangular setup (the famous Decca tree) above and behind the conductor, with a few spot mikes for winds and other instruments, depending on the piece; Delos uses a spaced array in front of the orchestra with spot mikes for winds and other areas of the orchestra that need it, plus some ambience mikes they place out in the hall. It ultimately depends on the skill of the recording engineer and the artistic taste of the producer to produce a fine classical recording, but the goal of most labels is to put you into the concert hall (although the row you get in that hall may vary from label to label).

Rcprince... impressive response! all of them; thanks guys.

btw, anyone know if the Beethoven i was listening to is considered to be a special recording or am i just finally getting to hear details from vinyl with my new setup (thanks to twl.) This copy is the Classic 45 series from the original living stereo rca red seal...or, rather, from the master recording they used for that rca copy (i assume.)

If someone has this i'd like to know if they hear the guy with the nose whistle problem on the first track or if i'm really in trouble this time ...mentally.

Whoo-hoo!