Chicago Symphony Tops U.S. Orchestras
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A brand new ranking of the world's symphony orchestras hits the news stands today, courtesy of the venerable British publication Gramophone. At the No. 1 spot is Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. But the top U.S. orchestra may come as a surprise to some.
Gramophone asked classical music critics from the U.S., Europe and Asia to come up with their top 20 favorite orchestras. After the lists were compiled, the Chicago Symphony came out on top in the U.S. Gramophone editor James Inverne says Chicago beat out some tough competition.
"Actually, this will be a surprise because a lot of people in America would, as a knee-jerk reaction, would rank the New York Philharmonic at the top," Inverne says. "Or, indeed, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has fantastic technical standards. But Chicago beat a further six orchestras, which were in our top 20, from America."
Inverne says he was inspired to conduct the poll because even though the level of musicianship is rising, there are far fewer orchestras these days that have an immediately identifiable sound.
"It's the equivalent, if you like, of having fewer great charismatic actors, and many more kind of good-looking actors who are fine playing everything, but you don't want to take away their King Lear."
So, what's Chicago's unique, identifiable sound? Inverne has one word: brass.
"Chicago famously has this incredible brass sound," Inverne says. "And it just pins you to the back of your seat. And the way that that brass sound shoots out, exemplifies a lot about the orchestra, which is a sense of adventure in music-making."
The classical music critic for the Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein, wasn't surprised when he heard the news about his hometown orchestra taking the top spot.
"Not to be too Chicago chauvinistic," he says, "but the rankings confirm what those of us here in Chicago have felt for some time."
Von Rhein notes that the 107-year-old Chicago Symphony is not only in good health sonically, but also financially — something of a rarity for orchestras these days.
"As of June 30, the orchestra not only balanced its books, but turned up a modest surplus. They reported strong fundraising, with ticket sales exceeding 85 percent paid capacity, which is high for American orchestras."
While many American orchestras may be struggling financially, they are sounding good, at least according to Gramophone. Seven of the world's top 20, in the new ranking, are U.S. orchestras. And for James Inverne, that's good news. Much better, at least, than the din of backstage drama that sometimes rises above the sound of the music.
"Some of the time it feels like what we're hearing, above everything else about the American orchestral scene, is all the gossip and the intrigue, and the back-biting and conductors being ousted and critic being shuffled around, and all of this kind of thing, but when all is said and done [you Americans] do make some fantastic music."
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1. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
2. Berlin Philharmonic
3. Vienna Philharmonic
4. London Symphony Orchestra
5. Chicago Symphony Orchestra
6. Bavarian Radio Symphony
7. Cleveland Orchestra
8. Los Angeles Philharmonic
9. Budapest Festival Orchestra
10. Dresden Staatskapelle
11. Boston Symphony Orchestra
12. New York Philharmonic
13. San Francisco Symphony
14. Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
15. Russian National Orchestra
16. Leningrad Philharmonic
17. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
18. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
19. Saito Kinen Symphony Orchestra
20. Czech Philharmonic
- Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps; Debussy: La mer; Boulez: Notations VII by Daniel Barenboim
- Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra by Georg Solti
- Reiner Conducts Wagner by Fritz Reiner
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
A brand new ranking of the world's symphony orchestras hits the newsstands today, courtesy of the British publication, Gramophone. At the number-one spot is Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The number-one U.S. orchestra may come as a surprise to some, as NPR's Tom Huizenga reports.
TOM HUIZENGA: Gramophone asked classical-music critics from the U.S., Europe and Asia to come up with their top 20 favorite orchestras. After the lists were compiled, the Chicago Symphony came out on top in the U.S. Gramophone editor James Inverne says it beat out some tough competition.
Mr. JAMES INVERNE (Editor, Gramophone): Well, actually, this will be a surprise because a lot of people in America would, as a knee-jerk reaction, I suppose, would rank the New York Philharmonic at the top, or indeed, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has fantastic technical standards. But Chicago beat a further six orchestras which were in our top 20 from America.
(Soundbite of music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
HUIZENGA: Inverne was inspired to conduct the poll because, even though the level of playing is rising, he says there are far fewer orchestras these days that have an immediately identifiable sound.
Mr. INVERNE: It's the equivalent, if you like, of having fewer great charismatic actors, and many more kind of good-looking actors who are fine playing everything, but you don't want to take away their "King Lear."
HUIZENGA: So, what's Chicago's unique, identifiable sound?
Mr. INVERNE: Chicago famously has this incredible brass sound, and it just pins you to the back of your seat.
(Soundbite of music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Mr. INVERNE: The way that that brass sound shoots out exemplifies a lot about the orchestra, which is a sense of adventure in music-making.
(Soundbite of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music)
Mr. JOHN VON RHEIN (Classical Music Critic, Chicago Tribune): Not to sound too Chicago chauvinistic, but the rankings confirm what those of us here in Chicago have felt for some time.
HUIZENGA: John von Rhein is the classical-music critic for the Chicago Tribune. He says not only is the 107-year-old Chicago Symphony in good health sonically, but also financially: something of a rarity for orchestras these days.
Mr. VON RHEIN: As of June 30, the orchestra not only balanced its books, but turned up a modest surplus. They reported strong fundraising, ticket sales exceeding 85 percent, which is high for American orchestras.
HUIZENGA: While many American orchestras may be struggling financially, they are sounding good, at least according to Gramophone. Seven of the world's top 20 in the new ranking are U.S. orchestras. And for James Inverne, that's good news, much better, at least, than the din of backstage drama that sometimes rises above the sound of the music.
Mr. INVERNE: Some of the time it feels like what we're hearing above everything else about the American orchestral scene is all the gossip and the intrigue and the back-biting and conductors being ousted and critics being shuffled around, all of this kind of thing, but when all's said and done, you still make some fantastic music.
HUIZENGA: Tom Huizenga, NPR News.
(Soundbite of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music)
INSKEEP: The ranking of radio news programs is topped by Morning Edition from NPR News. The program is directed by Julia Holmes Bailey and Vince Pearson. Our production team includes Nicole Beemsterboer, Claudette Habermann, Asma Khalid, Steve Munro, Joel Riddle, Emily Ochsenschlager, Leah Scarpelli and Lindsey Totty, with Ben Bergman and Melissa Jaeger-Miller at NPR West. The director of morning programming is Ellen McDonnell, and our theme music was written by BJ Liederman, arranged by Jim Pew. I'm Steve Inskeep.
(Soundbite of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
