Steve Schwartz:

>Yeah, I was amazed the Thomas and the SFSO were left off the list and
>Salonen and the LA Phil made it -- thoroughly professional, the latter
>bunch, but not really inspirational.

 From the article I had the impression that the critic made his rankings
mostly on the basis of hearing them during their annual visits to Carnegie
Hall, rather than in their own venues.  If so, is this really adequate?
This is not some kind of competition and an orchestra's performance needs
to be judged over time and in a variety of repetoire.  Touring orchestras
are bound to be tired and thus not always up to their best, even if they
are trying to show off.

Jim Tobin