Joyce Wong on my account of the interview:

>I didn't see the interview, nor have I heard Joel's attempts at classical
>music; nor is this is not an attempt to resurrect a tired and fruitless
>debate, but Joel is hardly the only one who identifies Schoenberg and his
>atonal followers as villians.  Depicting Schoenberg via unpleasant sounds
>is hardly a de facto charicature, as Schoenberg created a great many on
>his own.  The atonal genre has done much to make a good many people regard
>anything composed in the past 80 years or so with the wariness of an
>over-flogged pup who flinches upon seeing a raised hand.

Alright, let's not do tired and fruitless.  But I thing that Ms.  Wong
would agree that there is an enormous amount of twentieth century music
which is accessible.  Indeed she presents such music in her concert series.
Joel's statements simply strengthen the stereotype that all 20 th century
is unlistenable except to the nerds who chat about key signatures
incessantly.  This is negative outreach.

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University