Robin Mitchell-Boyaask writes:

>I agree with his other comments about recordings being necessary for people
>who live far from urban centers.  But I never understood people who do live
>in or near cities who do not support their performing arts institutions
>with their presence.  Collecting isn't a substitute for live music-making,
>and does real harm to living musicians if it keeps audiences away

I could not disagree more.  At the risk of sounding like a broken LP, I
once more point out that recorded music accesses a huge repertory- much
larger and more interesting than the repertory available in live concerts
in any urban center, even S.F. and N.Y.C.  I do go to live concerts,
incidentally- this is not an either-or proposition.  But what M-B calls
"collecting", if not a substitute for live music, is a fantastic enrichment
for the music lover.  M-B is of the opinion that the collapse of the record
industry will be "beneficial to classical music".  Wrong again - the
classical audience will simply shrink from its present very small size.
And performing organizations, responding to local community interest, will
produce EVEN BLANDER programming.  But the recording industry is not going
to collapse.  It may, however, change radically, and the internet will play
a role.

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University