Don Satz writes (in excerpt):

>My premise is that state control of classical music would have dire
>consequences for consumers, performers, and composers... The
>existing musical conditions in Democratic nations generally entail private
>means with some Governmental support and programming - that's not state
>control, and its virtues are not relevant to a discussion of expected

Private control can also have dire consequences.  Let's face it,
classical music is not in clover all over the "free" world.  Nor was
it ever under totalitarian regimes.  In the free world exigencies of
financing cause the trouble; in totalitarian states it's censorship based on
ideology.  But in regard to music we've not had in our time _total_ control
of music exercised by any system, nor total freedom accorded to music by
any.  Both the Nazis and the Communists tried to bar certain genres of
music but otherwise left programming to the professionals.  Both of them
also tried to favor certain genres of music, e.g.  such as corresponded
with the ideal of "socialist realism." But even if they hadn't done that,
much of the goo would have seen performance anyway, as has consistently
been the case in the free world.

In music requiring large forces some form of subsidization is required.
It'd be nice if free enterprise could take care of this need, but it's
shown that it can't, except in a very few enchanted places.  And even in
these, only at the price of the display of donors' names either etched in
brass or graven in stone.  My preference is to pay a small additional tax
and, in return, feel beholden to no fat cats--nor to have house managements
be beholden to them in matters of artistic policy.

When it comes to construction work, say, or assembling automobiles, free
enterprise is peerless.  It is, however, significantly flawed when it comes
to providing, countrywide and consistently, live classical music.  As for
broadcasting, what you get on the Internet is no criterion.  It's merely
a tiny sampling.  Here in Munich, for instance, we have a public service
(=state-run) classical station that is excellent.  We also have a private
station that is not as good, but at least is kept on its toes by the
quality of the state station it has to compete with.

Denis Fodor                     Internet:[log in to unmask]