[This message was distributed yesterday.  However, due to a bug in the
 "cleanup" scripts I run when processing list messages (a bug that's been
 there for months), an unfortunate typo suddenly appeared and I missed it.
 This is the corrected version.  -Dave]

I've been following this thread with some interest.  Jim Svejda has been
my friend for more than 20 years, ever since we worked together at WCRB
in Boston.  We are in frequent contact.  I am the "Kevin" in the list
of dedicatees in his book.  Let me clear up some confusions.

Jim was not a pupil of Mitch Miller.  As a youth, Jim studied the oboe,
and played under Hanson at the National Youth Summer Camp Orchestra, or
whatever it was called.  As an oboist, he naturally admired the wonderful
tone and musicality of Mitch Miller's oboe playing.  Many years later,
Mitch was a guest on Jim's show, and they became fast friends.  Some of
my favorite memories are of dinners with Jim and Mitch in Los Angeles.
Mitch's memory of things musical in the 30's and 40's is encyclopaedic.
I was shocked by his stories of the pettiness of his teacher, Marcel
Tabuteau.

Jim is *not* an idiot.  He is a brilliant and educated man, with two
masters degrees.  He is superbly well read, and a voracious reader.  He is
a published poet.  Jim has a wonderful and very catholic appreciation of
music.  He loves historical recordings, an interest that I may have helped
to bloom.

In addition to his work at KUSC, Jim is a film critic for KNX in Los
Angeles.  Film is his second major interest.  Again, his knowledge is vast.
Dozens of times, we've been relaxing watching some old movie, and Jim will
quote in advance the exact words spoken by all characters, verbatim, and at
great length.  Jim can do the same for Shakespeare, Congreve, Milton, etc.
Jim sees a new film at screenings almost every day.  He once told me that
he loved to be a film critic, because he now was paid to do what he used to
pay to do.

As for "The Record Shelf Guide," Jim spends months working on that book.
He just finished the latest revision.  The copy on my computer is about 800
pages in length, not counting the index.  It's a labor of love, not done
for the financial reward, which in this case is small compared to the
effort.

Since he is a critic, he has opinions.  He has strong opinions.  How else
can one be a critic? He likes things to excess, and he dislikes things to
excess.  His opinions are not facile or flippant.  He mixes humor with
opinion, and his writings are not dull.  Please remember that most people
want to be entertained, not educated.

If you disagree with his opinions, so be it.  The are two sides to every
coin.  Please do not assume that, because you disagree with Jim's opinions,
that he is an idiot.  You have the power to put down the book, or change
the channel.

As for Karajan, he dislikes him for two reasons.  First, Jim despises
Karajan as a person for being a Nazi.  It's a fact that Karajan was a
willing Nazi, and it is permitted to dislike him for that.  Secondly, Jim
(and some others) feel that Karajan etiolates the music he conducts.  You
may have a different opinion, and I invite you to continue to buy Karajan's
recordings.  May I just point out that many orchestra musicians say that
the most important communication that they receive from a conductor comes
from the eyes.  In all the videos I've seen of Karajan, he conducts as in
a trance, with his eyes closed.  Mayhap he had little to communicate?

Kevin P. Mostyn  ([log in to unmask])