The best press offices in the music world
mainYou’ve read the worst. These are the best, on current form in our opinion, in descending order (marks from 0-10).
10 Glyndebourne …. 7.1
Remarkably helpful for so snooty a fest.
9 Orchestre de Paris
Fastest in France (that’s not saying much, but still…)
8 London’s Barbican Centre …. 7.2
Streets ahead of the South Bank
7 Royal Opera House, Covent Garden …. 7.8
Depends who picks up the phone, but they’re usually good.
6 Chicago Symphony Orchestra …. 7.9
Smart, literate, non-verbose.
5 La Scala, Milan … 8.1
Until a month ago, Bayreuth’s close rival for worst opera press office on earth. Now under new management. Very sharp.
4 Cleveland Orchestra …. 8.2
Under change of guard… but still very much on the ball
3 Bavarian State Opera … 8.3
Alert, outgoing, initiating. A living reproach to Bayreuth.
2 Salzburg Festival …. 8.5
Prompt, polite, polyglot. Good coffee.
1 Los Angeles Philharmonic … 9
Run by ex-record-biz wiz, a really sharp and happy bunch of Dudies. The rest should emulate.
The A-team
And how exactly did this poll generate its figures?
Whoever kissed Norman’s butt the most got the best and those that didn’t succumb got worst. Pretty obvious to me.
“…so snooty a fest.”
Cheap.
You wish it were.
Cheap – and in my view grossly inaccurate too. I find the Box Office there, the friendliest, least snooty, most personal and most helpful of any Box Office I deal with. And I find the lazy cliche about uninterested bankers equally untrue and tiresome.
Admittedly outsourced to a private PR but don’t forget the Academmia di Santa Cecilia, totally transformed since Pappano.
“And how exactly did this poll generate its figures?” – chill out…!! It’s an opinion poll, therefore this is all surely that; opinion. People get so het up!
Norman, you’ve omitted Alexandra Heybourne at Radio 3, a wonderful communicator.
You must be kidding, Tom. Will tell you some time…