The town I live in, New Orleans, Louisiana, has a very fragile symphony-orchestra tradition (much stronger in opera). Beyond operas and recent movies, I doubt that many even college-educated New Orleanians could tell you the names of classical composers, let alone know what these composers wrote. One positive result of all this is that they react spontaneously and honestly to what they hear, without much concern for reputation. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, for example, got very little response (the symphony's doing it again) while Bernstein's Age of Anxiety symphony received thunderous applause. The audience also applauds (sometimes) between movements. I'm glad they're having a good time. It's not as if they were applauding *during* the movement. Steve Schwartz