Richard Tsuyuki:

>...why does [Mozart's] PC 21 get great play figures while, I don't
>know, say, L'histoire du Soldat does not?

In this case it is a taste for the sweet rather than the astringent,
perhaps, in addition to the great melodic appeal of the Mozart.

>Why are there many people who could enthusiastically hum you the "Ode to
>Joy" theme but could hear the entire first three movements of Beethoven's
>9th without recognizing it?

The "Ode to Joy" was borrowed for a hymn melody for one thing.  As for the
other movements, anyone old enough to have watched the Huntley Brinkley
Report knows the opening of the scherzo.

>Why is "Moldau" so much more popular than the rest of Ma Vlast?

Maybe in part for the same reasons Bolero is popular:  it starts quietly
with a simple melody and builds.  I've always preferred it to the other
pieces myself.  Don't you think some of them are on the bombastic side?
From Bohemian Meadows and Forests is probably the second most frequently
played segment and that is quiet.

Jim Tobin