The wettest orchestra on earth?
mainFrom the Lebrecht Album of the Week:
The pianist Emanuel Ax remarked the other day that performance quality has risen so high in his lifetime that you hardly ever encounter a sub-standard orchestra. On the evidence of this release B….n in N….., the rainiest city on earth, boasts a Philharmonic that could easily be mistaken on a dull day for one in Berlin….
Read on here.
Having heard 50 or more orchestras around the world over the years, I can attest that there really are no mediocre groups, at least among those that pay some semblance of a living wage. And no surprise: we read all the time about how music schools are turning out far more players than orchestras can hire. So every orchestra can hire great players these days; they can’t all go to Berlin and Chicago. Though Bergen would be impressive in this regard because it’s predominantly Norwegians, so they’re turning out a lot of great players at home.
The Bergen Philharmonic has been a terrific orchestra, putting out terrific recordings, for at least a couple of decades now. It’s nice to hear about another great recording (and Lawrence Power is a great violist), but it’s not exactly surprising.