@Allison said, “In a symphony orchestra, we’re not sightreading, not in concerts, not even in rehearsals. We’re expected to show up at the first rehearsal of any given week already knowing our part.”
I didn’t say anything about sight-reading. I said that orchestra players are excellent readers — that is, they are able to correctly interpret the parts they are given, based on the composer and the period in music history in which that composer wrote. How long they practice on a piece is not relevant.
Players may be able to do more than that, or believe they can, but is this not the job description (dare I use such an artistic word?) that mgt and union are trying to put a price tag on?
Le Chant du Rossignol...(song of the nightingale) 