Larry Sherwood wrote:
>It seems to me that the article overlooked a classic- and well known-
>retort by Brahms. I've heard that a review of Brahms' First Symphony
>contained the criticism that the work owed rather much to Beethoven.
>Brahms reportedly replied, with understandable irritation, "Well any
>fool could see that".
Ah, but the Slate article was about Brahms's mastery of the *subtle*
putdown. The above remark was about as subtle as, well, the Brahms
First Symphony's debt to Beethoven. Glad you liked the article, though.
Mitch Friedfeld