PEKKING ORDER

An orchestra gets its revenues from subscriptions, but its international reputation comes from the permanent legacy of its recordings, and the L.A. Philharmonic’s recorded output has been horrendously uneven. In CD stores, the Philharmonic’s recordings have to compete against those of the great East Coast and European orchestras, which often are on cheaper labels. The Philharmonic needs to make better-sounding recordings than the Philadelphia, Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonic and Boston Symphony, and I don’t think they can do it.

MATTHEW OKADA

Pasadena