Denis Fodor opines:

>...  Really great orchestras should stick to their specialities (as the
>otherwise very liberal Joachim Kaiser opined in the Rattle/BPO matter).
>Breadth should be sought by attending the performances of smaller, or less
>loftily reputed groups specializing in areas not covered by the greats--or
>via listening to recordings, a marvellous way of doing it.  Playing it this
>way endows great orchestras with the role, and a secure role it ought to
>prove to be,the role that the great museums play to the fine arts; at the
>same time it would assure a very large role for other orchestras, or
>musical groups, including in the field of recording.

Well, uh, maybe.  If I'm reading you right then by that reasoning the
Boston Symphony would never have commissioned and premiered Bartok's
Concerto for Orchestra nor would the Concertgebouw have played the Mahler
symphonies as they were being written.

Scott Morrison