¿La mejor orquesta del mundo?

When it was announced that in a 2019 Season concert the soloist would be Stefan Dohr – principal horn of the second largest orchestra in the world – it was neither an exaggeration nor a publicity stunt. That the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is the second largest orchestra in the world is supported by the criteria of the most relevant specialized musical medium today: Gramophone.

Since 2008, the magazine founded in England in 1923 by the Scottish writer Compton Mackenzie, has dedicated itself to the task of choosing the twenty orchestras that deserve the title of the best. This task is entrusted to a panel made up of critics from media such as the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times (United States), Die Presse (Austria), Le Monde (France), Die Welt (Germany), De Telegraaf (Holland) and the Chinese and South Korean subsidiaries of Gramophone.

And it's not just who they choose, but how. To do so, the British publication explained, “We have limited ourselves to comparing modern orchestras, but, apart from this, it is an open comparison. The panel has considered the question from all angles — judging both the concerts and recordings, their contribution to local and national communities and the ability to maintain iconic status in an increasingly competitive environment..

It must be said that Gramophone's is not the only ranking that seeks to answer a question that carries with it a strong subjective burden. Even so, the orchestras that are mentioned there can be recognized by their history and work to keep classical music current.