Steven Martin wrote:

>Ian has a darn good point.

I am afraid that I must disagree with my esteemed colleague Mr. Crisp.
Only in recent years have I had access to a major symphony orchestra.  I
am all for adventuresome programming, but there are hundreds of works in
the standard repertoire that, although I have heard records of them all my
life, I have never heard played in concert.  Some examples:  Beethoven's
third, the Mendelssohn violin concerto, Bruckner's 7th.  The thrill of
hearing these great pieces played live is a great one for me.  I heard my
first Saint-Saens organ symphony live just a few weeks ago, and it was a
total rush!  I want to see orchetras play a variety of works, a good mix
of old and new, but let's keep in mind that there are many young aspiring
musicians who have not heard our warhorses yet for the first time.  Let's
not deprive them of the opportunity we once had to hear great music live!

Kevin Sutton