Dear folks,
As many percussionists may tell you, most of the reason playing percussion in orchestras is difficult (assuming for the sake of argument that it can sometimes be, if one chooses to define it as such), is simply that the time-keeping in an orchestra usually leaves something to be desired, so to speak. String players, especially, since they have never (in many cases) played instruments that have a clearly defined attack as a matter of course, simply are not as sensitive to slight fluctuations in the beat. percussionists, comparatively, are under a tremendous amount of stress to try to fit in with the quirky time of an orchestra, and such quirks are basically never predictable. Not knowing what is going to go wrong next with the rhythm day in and day out can be exhausting and frustrating, and some of the finest percussionists just don't play with orchestras because of it (and the whole conductors-are-disrespectful thing). Bob Becker is someone, for instance, who is "too good" to deal with the crap in the orchestral environment. Very good conductors can make it all worthwhile, though, like Stokowski, and Casals. Their time is better and they are more respectful. perhaps, even, the two things are related.
Link to the column being discussed: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtriangle.html
This is actually a Mailbag item, not a column by Cecil. – CKDextHavn, SDStaff
[Note: This message has been edited by CKDextHavn]