Wes Crone replies to me:
>>After all, there are very learned people who find Brahms deficient, but
>>it probably doesn't affect most of them in their ability to enjoy Brahms.
>
>I would like to know what you mean by deficient. Certainly you do not
>mean that these "learned" people find any technical deficiencies in Brahms.
>you could not name a more highly skilled craftsman in Classical music.
I'm not saying *I* find him deficient as a craftsman. That would be
presumptuous of me indeed. However, some do criticize his handling of
sonata form, particularly his developments, and they give their arguments
strong support. I can see what they're talking about, but for me it
doesn't matter. I suspect it doesn't really matter all that much to their
enjoyment of the piece either.
Steve Schwartz