Dave, thanks for the Archive excavation. I see that Tchaikovsky did not
even make Steve's short list. But if these are the criteria:
>1. Have a lasting influence on the course of music.
>
>2. Be proficient in all genres of his day.
>
>3. Show a wide expressive range.
>
>4. A consistency of result. Not everything must be wonderful,
>but a preponderance should.
>
>5. I'm not as sure about this one, but at least one semi-popular
>hit. To me, this shows that the music speaks to everybody.
...I definitely think he should have. And in my original post, I
somehow omitted the Serenade for String Orchestra. I can envision
Tchaikovsky thumbing his nose at his critics while composing this:
"Look what I can do with only a scale."
Mitch Friedfeld