Which is the best orchestra in the world? Donald Rosenberg tries to define criteria. “The temptation to line up orchestras and score them as if they were sports teams is tempting. But it doesn’t work. Art can’t be assessed on the basis of points. Every orchestra is different. Some are perceptibly better than others. Evaluating an orchestra largely has to do with style, traditions and concepts of sound. Anything else is cheerleading. Still, it is instructive and fun to listen closely to orchestras to discern the qualities that make them unusual and special.”