Submitted by Gregg Whiteside, Feb 10, 2008 06:07

Mariss Janson's, "the world's greatest living conductor??" The Concertgebouw Orchestra, "the world's greatest orchestra?" Hardly. Or maybe Mr. Kirshnit doesn't know that Claudio Abbado is still living? The Concertgebouw is a great orchestra, but the violin section in these concerts certainly lacked the heft and luxuiriant sheen of the Berlin Philharmonic, heard here recently during the Berlin Festival. No comparison. And several months ago, two works on the Concertgebouw's programs were also played by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under the Royal's former director, Riccardo Chailly -- Strauss's Don Juan, and Mahler's 5th Symphony -- and until I heard Leipzig play them I wondered how Chailly could leave the Concertgebouw for Leipzig. Anyone who heard those concerts -- and one guesses Mr. Kirshnit did not -- now knows why. The Leipzig performances were superior in every way to the Concertgebouw's.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.