Ridiculous lists

The inane list that Gramophone has published of the world's top orchestras deserves trashing. The Times of London is already complaining that only one British orchestra is featured. Hell, no French orchestras are mentioned at all. Charles Noble's blog has an update that points to Robert Levine's blog in which Levine mentions all sorts of factors that were not taken into account in compiling this list. Oh well, Gramophone will be selling a lot of copies and that was the whole point.

From The Times article, here's the skinny on the judging:

"The poll was put together by Gramophone, the classical music magazine, and limited to modern romantic orchestras (so period bands such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment did not get a look in). The eleven-strong panel included three British critics from the magazine, two Americans, two Asians and one each from Le Monde (France), Die Welt (Germany), De Telegraaf (the Nether-lands) and Die Presse (Austria).

James Inverne, the editor of Gramophone, said that the aim had been to compile a selection that was not “patriotic or parochial."