From Justin Davidson of Newsday.com:

In the symphonic music world, the Vienna Philharmonic defines prestige. It performs annually at Carnegie Hall, its concerts are almost always sold out, its New Year’s celebration in Vienna is broadcast around the world, and having stood on its podium is a conductor’s equivalent of Olympic gold. The Philharmonic is Austria’s preeminent purveyor of Austria’s most visible export: classical music. But it is more: To many people around the world, and in its own corporate estimation, it embodies the quintessence of the Western musical tradition.

I have heard and written about the orchestra many times, but I will not be attending Friday’s Carnegie Hall performances - or Saturday’s, or Sunday’s - and it may be years before I review it again. A decade after it supposedly committed itself to entering the 21st century, I believe that the Vienna Philharmonic has relinquished its claim to serious consideration as a dynamic cultural organization.

Read more here.

From the Daily Telegraph: violists are the sex fiends of the orchestra.

As to the survey itself, there are a few startling results. Viola players, it seems, are “most likely to have sex on a first date”, “most likely to have had sex three or more times in the last week” and “most likely to have had 10 or more sexual partners” (presumably not all at once).

You heard it here first…