John Proffitt wrote:

>I certainly don't deny Eric his opinion, but I don't exactly understand it:
>if one desires to reflect in silence, one merely has to turn off the radio!
>Of course, you need to avoid the local mall or supermarket, where the Musak
>is likely to be both loud and out of your control.  But your own radio at
>home or in the car?--turn it off, but don't begrudge those who do
>appreciate appropriate music.

I can only assume this has the potential to be sensitive issue, especially
applied to the context of such a tragic event. However, for me, there is
a more fundamental question involved, how does anyone decide "what is
appropriate?" For me that is too subjective of a notion.

I recall one listener who called me early one Saturday morning and said,
"why are you playing this crap?" (a violin sonata by Amy Beach).  It turned
out that it hadn't suited his "mood." I asked him, "how am I supposed to
guess what your mood is and if I did know, how would I know what would suit
you mood and furthermore, should your mood dictate what we broadcast?"

While I think it can be a noble thing to attempt to find something
"appropriate" for any given situation, when those tragic events occurred,
the last thing I wanted to hear was the etheral Mahler.  I was outraged and
still am.  Even if we had a current version of a doctrine of affections,
how would one decide what emotion needed to be addressed.  If it is music
appropriate to Christmas or Easter or a work specifically written for an
event, that isn't such a problem.  But what about something as personal as
an emotion.  All I can say is that I was glad I wasn't in the control room
of our radio station on that day.

I remember a broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the day JFK
was killed.  A member of the Board came out on stage and announced JFK's
passing.  The Board member continued by saying that he went to a concert on
the day his father had died.  And so, the concert continued.  I can't
recall for sure but they may have played the funeral march from Beethoven's
Eroica, but I know they continued with a performance of the Rachmaninoff
Third Concerto.

Karl