Robert Peters wrote: >Tremendous news for all fans of Peter Shaffer! A new play by him will >have its premiere soon. As the author himself told me in a confidential >telephone conversation on this April 1 the play will have the title >"Ludwig" and deal with the life of Beethoven. Beethoven will reveal the >secret cause for his deafness: he listened to an opera by Antonio Salieri >and there, hurt deeply by the mediocrity of Salieri's music, his hearing >ailings began. Poor Salieri. To what ends will people go to use the guy to express the utmost disdain? I caught the movie "The Last Castle" on cable the other night. An opening scene introduces the James Gandolfini character, whom the filmmakers want us to see early on is a certified loser. How do we know that for certain? Among other clues, he is playing a record of Salieri's music, and in case we don't recognize the piece and get the point we are even shown the cover of the album. My question is: If it hadn't been for Peter Shaffer's play and its subsequent film version, would this scene have made any sense to the audience of a rousing, flag-waving movie like "The Last Castle"? Shaffer's opus has taken its hits on this list, but it certainly has entered the popular imagination. John Dalmas [log in to unmask]