Karl Miller wrote:

>From my perspective music theater is written to be popular, whereas the
>primary goal of art music is to please the composer.  Not an original
>thought on my part, something William Schuman said.

I'm not so sure that many composers did not write hoping that their
music would be published and performed to the masses (or some masses
anyway).  Also much popular music (composers of rock) often say that
write for themselves.  This gets into to issue of whether life imitates
art or art imitates life.

>And what about all of those fine composers who are still writing opera?

Maybe I should have said "musicals are a modern form of opera", not the
modern form.  Thanks for the correction.

Bill Pirkle