U. S. Orchestras

U. S. concertgoers absorb more symphonic music than any others in the world. The extent of this absorption was charted last week in a statistic-studded volume by Margaret Grant &Herman S. Hettinger (of the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania) with the help of the Carnegie Corporation (America's Symphony Orchestras--Norton--$3).

Sample believe-it-or-nots:

> The U. S. contains nearly 45,000 orchestras devoted to playing classical music. Of these more than 250 are full-fledged, permanent symphonic organizations.

> Of the 250-odd, 16 are big-league orchestras (with a budget of more than $100,000 a year), rivaling the best in Europe.

> Of the 16, three (the New York Philharmonic-Symphony, Boston Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra) are superior to any in Europe; each costs over $600,000 a year.

> None of them ever makes a red cent.

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