Walter Meyer responds to me:

>>Why would anyone who knows so much music literature consider themself to
>>be a musical illiterate?
>
>Appreciating the compliment, I nevertheless can play no instrument, and
>while I know the lines and spaces on a staff and a few other items of
>musical notation (learned in third grade public school), I can't really
>follow a score other than to pick a line of prominent melody and watch
>it go up and down.

I am reminded of my music literature entrance exam.  One professor was
delighted to point out that his friends, who could not read music, did
better than entering graduate students.  My guess would be that most of
those on this list would do better on that test than many music faculty.

There are many ways to know music.  It seems to me that reading score
gives a different perspective for sure, but listening is basic.  While this
relates to an earlier thread on reviewers who cannot read music...and not
to open that door again...another story...many years ago I was sitting in
judgement on a doctoral committee...our "candidate" was a pianist who had
done a thesis on music for the left hand.It was his qualifying exams, the
oral before being allowed to write his disseration.  I asked him to tell
me the major concertos written for left hand.  He did not do well...he had
never even heard of the Prokofiev.  When I asked him how many concertos
Prokofiev wrote, he didn't know.  Needless to say I flunked him, not just
on the basis of that, but it opened the door to the realization that this
student knew very little of the literature.  My guess is that you could
tell us how many piano concertos Prokofiev wrote.  The student only knew
the third so he guessed that Prokofiev wrote three.

Karl