Michael Cooper wrote:

>This pleasant surprise has opened up a source of frustration for me:
>How do I sort through modern music and find these gems, which are every
>bit as worthy of public attention as Bach, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky?

While many would argue that very few composers are worthy of the attention
given to the "greats," for me, the list of music written since 1900 that
is tonal and worth listening to is far longer than any list of the names
of all of the "great" composers of the past.  If you like I can provide
a list of some of my top 200 or so composers of tonal music...all of it
being written since 1900.

As for Morton Gould...I really don't understand why his music is often
slighted by the academics, yet valued by listeners.  For me, Gould was
a great composer. I know, I am about to be shut out from any musicological
meeting...of course, many of his works were on the light side, but they
were done with a level of expertise that is remarkable.  The only criticism
I can level is that I feel sometimes he did not edit himself well enough,
even if on some occasions he did cut his own works.

While many of his works are light hearted, some are not.  The First and
Third Symphonies, the Piano concerto, Soundings, come to mind.

For me, he was also a magnificent conductor.  Recently I did my own
noise reduced version of his performance of the Copland Dance Symphony.
Listening carefully to that performance I was amazed at the attention
to detail he gave the work and to the polish of the performance...and
it isn't even one of my favorite Copland works.

I also find his recordings and broadcasts of standard literature to be
excellent.

Karl