@Allison said:”So when someone says that one of the country’s very best orchestra plays so much worse than another that they seem to be in a different line of work, and gives as reason for such judgement such subjective issues as the color and richness of sound, I think it says much much more about the speaker than the orchestra.”
It is your opinion that the MO is one of the best in the US and you are entitled. However, apparently not all of us are persuaded of that. I count myself as one. I grew up on the sounds of the NYPhil and have no choice but to compare everything else I hear to them. The NYP has a voice, a consistency, a tradition. It can play great Mahler.
The MO, to me, has no discernible voice yet. If it does, it is a strangled one. They play the music alright, but only on a rare occasion have I been persuaded by their interpretation. Nevertheless, I always hope to be mistaken, for I have a stake in the MO. I studied with its Principal Flute, have experienced countless performances and a number of rehearsals and have practiced on its stage.
Le Chant du Rossignol...(song of the nightingale) 