Norman Lebrecht writes: >Let's not get behind barricades. I have nothing against recordings, >but there is a clear artistic distinction between canned music and live. What about recordings of live performances? And Don Saltz: I am also sensitive to the fact that people who do not live within reach of a concert hall need recordings to satisfy their musical cravings. I consider myself within this category. Let me add that every time I want to listen to a marvellous recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, I put my TAHRA FURT 1003 on my CD player and push the button of my time machine straight to the Lucerne Festival on August 22nd 1954. I close my eyes and I can see with the eyes of my mind the tall, bald man (W Furtwangler) waving his baton in front of the Philharmonia Orchestra... It's cold, but nobody cares, all eyes are mesmerised by that figure, from whom comes performed music of the highest quality. Without recordings this feelings would be impossible to achieve. Wilson Pereira [log in to unmask]