Bernard Chasan wrote:

>...  In my mind the standard repertory is absurdly narrow, but the
>counterargument is simply yhat the audience likes its Beethoven and
>Brahms, and that is all there is to it.  Be thankful for recordings.

In my mind, the 'standard reportory' is what is played the most often and,
therefore, what the audience is used to hearing, and doesn't have to work
to appreciate the sound comming off the stage.  The composers represented
in the 'standard reportory' were fortunate to have champions - those
persons who were willing to keep programming their music until audiences
accepted it.  Most of the 'standard reportory' is of sufficiently good
quality that as one generation passes, another continues to present
champions who continue to program the music.  This, to me, explains how
a composer like Spohr or Reinecke could be so well known and performed in
their time, and almost utterly unknown in our time.  Most of us on this
list relish listening to new music and so we keep a steady diet of new
music parading before our brains so we don't realize how hard it is for the
average concertgoer to confront a piece of music outside of the 'standard
reportory'.  Once a composer or piece of music looses it's champions, it's
almost certain to sink into obscurity until another champion comes along.
For us, in this electronic age, the typical champion is the adventurous
label, orchestra, and conductor who records and makes available to us
music outside the 'standard reportory'.  Long may they live and prosper.

Dave Harman
El Paso, TX