Bernard Gregoire wrote: >Charles Ives was right about symphony audiences, they are nothing but >Namby Pamby's. All "Rollos," indeed! (You may remember the apocryphal >Ives story about Rollo the plumber who visited Ives' home while he was >composing. Rollo complained about the noises emanating from the piano. >In reply Ives barked "...Rollo, take your dissonance's like a man") I agree with everything Mr.Gregoire says. Does this not go to prove the service provided to new/unfamiliar music by the recording industry, where the listener has the chance to study the work by repeated hearings, in his/her own home. In the UK, where I live, some of the most successful concerts including a new contemporary work have offered a pre-concert session where an expert in the field or the actual composer have given an explanation of the work with examples played by the performers/orchestra concerned. Needless to say, this is a rare and expensive luxury in a country where public funding for the serious arts seems a political non-starter. Mr Gale Andrews [log in to unmask] http://www.galeandrews.co.uk