The London Symphony Orchestra turns 100 this year, a good long run for an ensemble with the LSO’s lively history. “The orchestra was founded as Britain’s first self-ruling symphonic institution, and its players, who choose their principal conductor and guest conductors, have been notorious for a snarkiness that has caused more than one eminent maestro to turn tail and run.” The LSO has always been ranked among the top orchestras in the world, but Charles Michener believes that they never truly ascended to greatness until just recently, when they chose Sir Colin Davis as their latest principal conductor.