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Top 10 Orchestras

49K views 152 replies 78 participants last post by  perempe 
#1 ·
These are my top 10 Orchestras:
Berlin Phil
Boston Symphony
Chicago Symphony
Cleveland Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam
London Symphony
Orchestre de Paris
Staatskapelle Dresden
Bavarian Radio Symphony
Vienna Philharmonic

I was wondering what else you guys think? What metric do you use to pick your Top 10?

Discuss amongst everyone
 
#139 ·
I wonder what you mean by "yet". This was Ernest Asermet's orchestra for 49 years and he made many legendary recordingsa for British Decca. Some of these were going for £150 second hand at one time. Fortunately they are being reissued on Ausralian Eloquence. Their present conductor is Neeme Jarvi, when I saw them it was Marek Janowski. I can also assure you that I know whether an orchestra an orchestra is good or not as I've been going to concerts since 1947
 
#146 ·
For big orchestras: Berliner Philharmoniker (though a little less under Abbado and Rattle), Chicago (since Reiner and specially Solti), Concertgebouw, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony, Gewandhaus (in spite of the rushed conducting, their playing in Beethoven's cycle is something for the ages).

But none beats Le Concert des Nations under maestro Jordi Savall for baroque and earlier music. Just sublime, sublime. After that one, we have others like Akamedie für Alte Musik Berlin, Freiburgbarockorchester, and the usual British suspect in the HIP world (English BAroque Soloists, etc).
 
#148 ·
Is Bavarian Radio Orchestra so great? I've heard them live only once, they were good, esp. strings. And I have some recordings with them. And I absolutely love their chorus, maybe Bernstein was right then he praised them.

But sometimes I found their brass to be somewhat strangely shy in comparasion not only to Chicago or LSO or LPO, but to many German and Dutch orchestras such as BPO, VPO, DSO-Berlin, Gewandhaus, Concertgebouw.

Could you explain me this difference in the brass sound?
 
#150 ·
My top ten:

1. Bach Collegium Japan, Australian Chamber Orchestra (tie)
2. Academy of Ancient Music, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (tie)
3. Freiburg Barockorchester
4. Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
5. Le Concert de Nations
6. English Baroque Soloists
7. Orchestra Revolutionnaire et Romantique
8. Concerto Köln
9. The English Concert
10. Berliner Philharmoniker
 
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