Denis Fodor wrote:

>America's great orchestras including, of course, that of Philadelphia,
>have no outstanding national canon of classical music to sustain; nor, for
>that matter, do the British or the Dutch or the Spanish or the Portuguese
>or the Poles (though maybe the Czechs and the Hungarians do).  So, for the
>Phillies or,say, the Concertgebouw, the good news would be that they're not
>typecast under the Fodor system.  They are free to excel at whatever thing
>was of their choosing.

I grew up with the Boston Symphony under Munch.  Now, their style of
playing was very different from many orchestras.  Since I learned much
of the repertoire listening to Munch and the BSO, hearing a different
orchestra and conductor in some of that repertoire was a jolt.  But, I
either knew I did like it, or did not.  As I became familiar with different
styles and how they sounded, I found I most enjoyed good performances.
I am still surprised how well some of those Munch performances are in
repertoire that is not the traditional French in which he excelled.  Still,
listening to a wide range of styles, has for me been an asset to my overall
listening experience.

I still prefer a good performance regardless of the stylistic heritage of
the composer.

Regards,

Tom Connor