Josh Kosman ponders why conductors such as Simon Rattle prefer to lead European orchestras than American bands. “The crucial distinction is that American audiences still need to be sold – constantly, repeatedly, and with tireless effectiveness – on the very premise of orchestral music. No conductor of an American orchestra, not even in the bastions of old-world Europhilia along the East Coast, can ever entirely take for granted the importance of what he’s doing. For many music directors, especially the Europeans who still constitute nearly the entire conductorial population of the United States, that uncertainty can rankle.”