Bernard Chasan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >>It is a source of wonderment to me that Mozart is bashed so much more >>frequently than any other master. It is as if the old eighteenth century >>drawing room cliches are being reinstated, and I have to wonder if the >>bashers know the operas, or the viola quintets, or the piano concerti. >>If you don't know these parts of Mozart's output (among many others) you >>don't know Mozart. Satoshi Akima replied: >Yes I do know them, and yes there are wonderful things about them.I must >admit that his later symphonies are still my favourites. This still does >not mean one should EVER stop listening 'critically' to anything. For by >critically, I repeat, I do not mean, with superficial disdain, but the >deepest of humility and love for what one MUST remain critical of. I have no desire to be critical, particularly since I am not qualified to be critical. (" Excuse me, Herr Mozart, but this listener from Boston has come to give you some composing tips") I do, however, have preferences - essentially I vote with my ears. And this enterprise, I find that it is more sensible to speak of individual works rather than composers because we listen work by work. As an example, is Chausson (no relation) a great composer or a minor composer? I don't know how to answer that question, but I do consider his Symphony in B minor (?) to be a wonderful piece of music. Professor Bernard Chasan Physics Department, Boston University