Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Trending News

Promoted
del_icious_manager
Lv 7
del_icious_manager asked in Entertainment & MusicMusicClassical · 1 decade ago

The World's Best Orchestras?

A recent poll of music critics in Europe and North America asked for recommendations for a league table of the world's best orchestras. The result is below. While I abhore this sort of meaningless comparison, I thought it might be interesting to get others' opinions on who they thought might be missing from the list and who is on the list that they wouldn't include.

It was also interesting that not a single chamber or period-instrument orchestra was mentioned - even though there are many stunningly good ones. Shame on the critics for completely ignoring them!

1. Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam

2. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

3. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

4. London Symphony Orchestra

5. Chicago Symphony Orchestra

6. Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

7. Cleveland Orchestra

8. Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

9. Budapest Festival Orchestra

10. Dresden Staatskapelle

11. Boston Symphony Orchestra

12. New York Philharmonic Orchestra

13. San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

14. Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre Orchestra

15. Russian National Orchestra

16. St Petersburg Phillharmonic

17. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

18. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York

19. Saito Kinen Symphony Orchestra, Japan

20. Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

On my part, some glaring omissions (although I would never try to put them in order!) include:

Australian Chamber Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra

European Union Youth Orchestra

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (there isn't a single orchestra from the southern heimisphere in the list)

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (London)

Philharmonia Orchestra (London)

Royal Danish Orchestra, Copenhagen

St Paul Chamber Orchestra

Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Incidentally, Y!A's prompt as to which category this question should be posted was "Food and Drink: Beer, wine and spirits"

Update:

Wow! some swift responses. I feel I can now add some of my views on those additions some of you have suggested:

The English Chamber Orchestra - actually created to be a recording orchestra (as was the Philharmonia, actually) is possibly the best-known chamber orchestra on the planet. However, as a 'live' ensemble they are less impressive - somewhast boring to my biased ears.

I concur with those that mentioned the revitalised Hallé. Mark Elder was undervalued for too many years, I have to say. I'm still not sure if they should be on a list of the 'top 20' in the world. And should they be there in preference to, say, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra?

I agree that there are too many American orchestras for a world list, although I too am surprised to see the LA Phil and San Francisco orchestras on the list instead of the still fabulous Philadelphians. I would add Montreal to my original list (perhaps in preference to Toronto).

Update 2:

Stefan K is right to put in a bid for the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra in Venezuela - especially if one considers what the value of the orchestra is within that country (or continent) as a whole. It knocks the socks off most others on the list in that respect.

I would say that neither the London Philharmonic nor the Royal Philharmonic are currently in the world top 20 (not even among the best in the UK!). The Royal Scottish National Orchestra would outplay them any day. And Malcolm, I should have included the Scottish Chamber Orchestra - they are one of the best in the world of ANY kind.

However, I have to take issue with Malcolm's Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Oh dear, of dear. One of the dangers of playing without a conductor is that 1) you have to play 'safe' and 2) you play like a committee. I find the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra one of the dullest orchestras I have ever heard. They can even make Prokofiev's Classical Symphony sound boring!

I'll be back later ...

Update 3:

As the answers seem to have dried up now, I shall conclude and then try to pick a best answer (difficult!). Thank you all for your contributions. I'm glad I didn't let this slip into the public vote this time!

It would seem that a general consensus (coloured by my own opinion, of course!) might be:

Orchestras on the list that don't deserve to be there:

Saito Kinen Orchestra

Budapest Festival Orchestra (yes, it's a pick-up band but so are the big 4 London orchestras!)

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

I would suggest the four to replace them should be:

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Montreal Symphony Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

Philharmonia Orchestran (London)

Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra (for their amazing work and inspiration)

Stefan K: sorry I didn't find room for some of your excellent suggestions. Maybe I'll post a question about the best 'non-symphony' orchestras. That might be interesting.

18 Answers

Relevance
  • mephistopheles
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I saw this poll likewise.

    The glaring omission as you rightly point out,

    of the London Philharmonia is frankly unforgivable.

    Unless unbeknownst to me their standards have suddenly dropped in the last few years how could they not be in there.

    Yet the Saito Kinen Orchestra of Japan makes the list.

    Madness!

    Of course I'm slightly biased being English but regardless,

    seven American ensembles to our one entry?

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    Best Orchestras In The World

    Source(s): https://shrink.im/a8LiG
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Sam Adams wins hands down.

    (Oops, sorry, got hooked on the Beer, Wine and Spirits thing)

    I don't trust these lists very much. Records give you a picture of what the orchestras were when the record was made, not what they are now -plus sound engineers and digital edition have a sizable contribution to the final result. To make a decent contribution to such a list, you have to be a completely unbiased critic, able to eliminate your personal taste in music and places from your opinion, and being paid to travel all over the world to see every top performance. I seriously doubt whether that uber-critic even exists.

    I have many Concertgebouw records under Haitink and they are spectacular, but I once saw it live with Chailly and I wasn't that impressed. But I have to admit I didn't love the program (Mahler and R. Strauss) so I'm not unbiased.

    I live in Chicago so I get to see the CSO more than other orchestras, and the Barenboim era was as good as it could be. Too bad the programmers insisted on showcasing "crossover" or downright pop musicians way too often until he got tired and abandoned the boat.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    Best Orchestras

    Source(s): https://shrinks.im/a9NE5
  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • Metalpriest666
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Hi del-icio

    Great list but i'm missing the " Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela " conducted by Gustavo Dudamel(They're a big Team).

    By the way let me say,that i share the opinion of Stephen G concerning the conductor's who make the difference.For example our

    German Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in the time after Karajan's Death

    to nowadays under Sir Simon Rattle(A really great one),they've been

    playing like lame Duck's in between.

    I'm missing the great italian chamber orchestra's that are so much im-portant to the baroque music,I Musici di Roma,I Solisti Veneti under Claudio Scimone or Il Giardino Armonico to name just this three extraordinary ones.And what about our great German Chamber Orchestras for baroque music,like the "MUSICA ANTIQUA KÖLN "or

    " CAMERATA KÖLN " or the "FREIBURGER BAROCKORCHESTER".

    At least i miss the ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA .Regards

    from Heidelberg/Germany.Your Fan Stefan K.

  • phaos
    1 decade ago

    Hey, as I am from Germany, I'm proud of seeing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on in the second place. If you're interested in this orchestra, i can recommend you a DVD that was recently released: "A Trip to Asia", including many interviews with Simon Rattle and the musicians.

  • rdenig_male
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    I saw this list as well and was rather surprised that the Concertgebouw came at the top. Excellent - but really the best? I was also very surprised that the Bavarian RSO and Budapest Festival O came so high. I thought the later was a pick-up, recording, band. I would agree with you concerning the glaring omission of the BBCSO. I'd add both the English Chamber Orchestra and London Mozart Players to the list. And where is Neeme Jarvi's former band, the Gothenburg Symphony O? Another omission is Sir Mark Elder's revitalised Hallé. As a matter of interest, why do so many Russians get a look in?

  • Malcolm D
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    O.K. what about the London Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The English Chamber Orchestra, The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I haven't heard Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra before but I hope to some day as I usually hear that the musicians are extremely good!

  • Doctor John
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    Welsh National Opera Orchestra

    Halle Orchestra

    National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

  • Show more answers (8)
Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.