Most people seem to think the currency has been debased.  As with the
standing ovation, so too the honorific 'maestro' have been overused to
the point that it has lost almost all meaning.

Even so, some people still grant the title its original purpose.  My
teacher studied with Monteux.  In that context, the only form of address
he ever used with Monteux was 'maitre'.  To this day, when he mentions
maitre there is only one person to whom he could possibly be referring.
I like that a lot.

Perhaps list members could help lead the way back to the gold standard.
The last standing O in which I joined was for Argerich.  It really meant
something.  Still does.

Charles "Charles" Barber