Submitted by Arthur Loken, Feb 13, 2008 08:52

What is it about New York critics and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra? I have to laugh. Yet, one critic of the Financial Times of London calls them "the premier orchestra in the Netherlands," a critic in the Times of London deems them "one of the 5 best orchestras in Europe." And another London critic, "one of the world's top 12 orchestras." Any critic that would call them "the world's greatest orchestra" -- as Fred Kirshnit did -- is guilty of over-effusiveness. Calm down, Fred. The performance of the Mahler 5th I saw was perfectly acceptable, but rather pedestrian. The violin sound was very thin, the principal horn player sounded somewhat nervous, and there was very little intensity to the performance. I totally agree with another respondent here -- the Leipzig Gewandhaus performances were at a higher level across the board. And the Berlin Philharmonic performances heard here during "Berlin in Lights" set the standard for true greatness. Put aside your prejudices and get your ears tuned.

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