Roger Hecht wrote: >Certainly, the NYP might have had a bad night in San Francisco--that's >not an easy hall to play in for one thing--but I can tell you they >were charged to the nines here in Boston, which has a great hall. They >played magnificently tonight, ... That's great to hear! And you are right about the criticisms. I think that sometimes the critics think that they have to say something bad to make themselves feel good about what they do. I know they should be critical about some points, but let's be absolutely honest, the NY Philharmonic has had some great conductors in the past and they were blasted. Personality conflicts maybe? I read the Bio on Bernstein recently and he was constantly criticized for things during his tenure as the director. He did quite a bit for symphonic music in that decade that will last for a very long time. Pete Krostag Pensacola, Florida