Spending a musical night out on the town is a great way to enjoy an evening – especially if you do it up first rate, don your elegant best and nab tickets to the symphony.
Of course, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic are some of the most often cited when people speak of the best, but really – what's the best one to see? (Apparently it's been in debate for quite a while – Time has an article dating back to 1983 asking the same question!)
According to NPR, nearly a year ago a British publication by the name of Gramophone released a top 20 of the world's greatest orchestras. Topping the list was the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, followed by the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic in the second and third slots.
But when it comes to the best orchestras this side of the pond, top honors went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which came in at fourth place.
According to Gramophone editor James Inverne, "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. 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."
Why? Inverene went on to explain, "Chicago famously has this incredible brass sound, 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."
Interestingly, it was followed by the Cleveland Orchestra in seventh place, and then we start to see those old familiars: the L.A. Phil in eighth place, Boston in eleventh and New York coming in at the number 12 spot. The San Francisco Symphony also nabbed a mention, landing in 13th place.
So when should you go? Pretty much anytime is good, but we vote for the holiday season, when things get really magical with seasonal music.
