The greatness of this work reminds me of an anecdote...

When I was an undergraduate music major in 1969 at Grinnell College, I had
the privelege of driving two famous music writers back 50 miles to the Des
Moines airport.  Enthralled by my love for the War Requiem, I just had to
ask their opinion of the merits.

Both of them said the work was terribly overrated and would hardly last.

Boy, were Irving Kolodin and Harold Schonberg wrong!

Jeff Dunn
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Alameda, CA