For all the bemoaning of the lack of knowledge about, or appreciation of,
CM in our culture, and the castigation of the CM recording industry (or
what passes for much of it these days), I would like to put in a word of
appreciation for the work of Karl Haas, who has been spreading the gospel
of CM rather effectively for more than thirty years.  Many of us so called
CM experts and collectors have tended to be dismissive of his program,
but I for one am willig to acknowledge his great influence on my journey
through music over the years.  His enthusiams, good humor (and bad puns),
pedagogic style, above all his respect of so many traditions and artists --
and his listeners, whether truck drivers or CEOs -- have surely contributed
widely to the spread of understanding and love of our chosen repertoire.
Yet in my year or more on the list I have never seen his name mentioned.
He should be honored in his lifetime, rather than belatedly after his
death.  We are all in his debt.

This morning NPR spent about 30 seconds on the death of Sir Yehudi Menuhin
- a quick sentence long quote from Isaac Stern and then some excerpts of
the 15 year Yehudi's recording of La Campanella.  This was followed by a 5+
minute segment on analyzing the film scores up for this year's Oscar.  Now
there's a sense of real priority!  We have nothing to fear but Y2K, and I'm
not talking about computer glitches!

This week we also lost Bidu Sayao, she of the unforgettable Bachainas
Brazilieras #5 and the best Zerlina I've ever heard (Met 1942 with Pinza
and Walter).  Does anyone have memories to share?

Eric
(coming off a real downer of a week)