Marcus Maroney wrote:

>I don't understand why so many listmembers seem to think opinionated
>idiot.  I've seen this written word for word about Svedja, Norman Lebrecht,
>and even Paul Griffiths.  Who's next, Virgil Thompson?

I remember reading a book review of a collection of Thomson's reviews.
It read something like..."and some of them read like rejected freshman
auditions for the Harvard Lampoon." That note being written by Walter
Piston.

Louis Lane once told me a wonderful story about Thomson.  Louis, who was
Szell's assistant conductor for many years, was talking with Szell about
an upcoming season's programs.  Szell had scheduled a work by Thomson.
Previous to this time, whenever the Cleveland Orchestra had been in New
York, Thomson had been highly critical of them.  Louis asked Szell his
reason for scheduling the Thomson work, the Louisiana Story.  Szell replied
"the Louisiana Purchase." After that performance the Cleveland Orchestra
got wonderful reviews whenever they played in New York.

And one more Thomson zinger...one of my teachers, Dika Newlin, was
performing in concert her Piano Trio.  Thomson was in the front row, sound
asleep.  There is one passage with some loud chords which woke him up.
The review the next day said something like, "with the exception of some
interesting harmonic progressions in the piano (which woke him up) an
otherwise uninteresting work."

Karl