Richard Todd wrote:

>Well, I see now why I've gravitated to music and away from football (which
>I do like, however).  In this kind of head-to-head contest, the winner
>can tounce the loser in a given match by a score of 100 to 1, and still
>is credited with only the simple win.  Some people might argue that
>Beethoven's 3rd and 5th symphonies are orders of magnitude better than
>their opposite numbers in the Mahler canon.  Others might not, of course.

And, I imagine, still others would argue that Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, and
9th symphonies were so great they win out over any Mahlerian symphony ever,
hands down.:-)

>...  Quantity has its value, of course, but if the championship is to
>be determined, even partly, on the number of symphonic measures composed,
>Papa Haydn would surely trounce both of your contenders.

Heck, though he didn't compose 104, even Mozart with 41 symphonies would
beat these two if being prolific were the only requirement.

>I might add that some of us who hold Shostakovich and Sibelius in high
>regard might want an enquiry into the officiating that eliminated these
>worthies in the playoffs.

And what happened to Brahms?? (I know, I know, he only composed 4
symphonies.)

-Lindsey Orcutt
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