Steve Schwartz mentioned that if there is an inner circle, he doubts
anybody on this list is part of it.  As a matter of fact, gang, I AM a
member of that inner circle, although I don't know exactly how I got there.
I can prove it with a simple bit of history.

Back in the late 1960's, my alter ego Dr.  Phage used to do an after-hours
music program on a non-commercial FM station.  One of the pieces I
occasionally broadcast was a beautiful little chaconne by an obscure,
German, baroque composer.  It then existed in only one recording, by
Munchinger conducting the strings of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
Within about fifteen years, the piece was bloody EVERYWHERE, and now
there are millions of versions, for every conceivable scoring, and it
even has its own Website.

I don't know how I got this secret power, and feel that, like Spiderman,
I should use it only for good.  The question is, did I do good when
I unleashed this piece on the CM world? Of course, perhaps I am not
personally responsible for letting this particular genie out of the bottle,
but in that case, who was?

Jon Gallant and Dr. Phage   ([log in to unmask])

 [The chaconne by Gluck?  Millions of versions?  Is there another besides
 Munchinger's that was available on Decca LXT5625?  What am I missing
 here?  -Dave]