Roger Hecht writes what many experienced music lovers must feel:

> Program a Bax symphony and I'm there.  Beethoven symphony?  I've heard
> them all many times, played the three with trombones several times.  I
> still listen to them on recordings.  But no Beethoven symphony is going
> to get me into the concert hall own its own any more--for whatever that
> is worth.

I find that I rarely go to hear the Seattle Symphony these days unless
they are playing something I haven't heard before.  And I never go to
hear some flashy, high-priced virtuoso play a concerto I have already
heard hundreds of times.  Beethoven with the SSO is simply embarrassing,
and besides, how many times can one hear these masterpieces as though
they were fresh?  I have a feeling that I will go to the grave without
ever hearing any live Bax, Barber symphonies, Alwyn, Rubbra, Enesco, and
a host of other composers whose recorded music has enriched my life.
When I lived in Sweden, I was astonished at the amount of Swedish music
that was played on the radio and in the concert hall.  I was able to
hear live performances of all the new music that was constantly being
commissioned by the cultural ministry.  How different it is here at home!
It is not exactly a wasteland, but it is musically impoverished compared
to Scandinavia or Europe.  It may well be that demanding, experienced
music lovers are a niche market, but we are starved in the concert hall.

David Lamb in Seattle

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