John Proffitt wrote: >I certainly don't deny Eric his opinion, but I don't exactly understand it: >if one desires to reflect in silence, one merely has to turn off the radio! >Of course, you need to avoid the local mall or supermarket, where the Musak >is likely to be both loud and out of your control. But your own radio at >home or in the car?--turn it off, but don't begrudge those who do >appreciate appropriate music. I can only assume this has the potential to be sensitive issue, especially applied to the context of such a tragic event. However, for me, there is a more fundamental question involved, how does anyone decide "what is appropriate?" For me that is too subjective of a notion. I recall one listener who called me early one Saturday morning and said, "why are you playing this crap?" (a violin sonata by Amy Beach). It turned out that it hadn't suited his "mood." I asked him, "how am I supposed to guess what your mood is and if I did know, how would I know what would suit you mood and furthermore, should your mood dictate what we broadcast?" While I think it can be a noble thing to attempt to find something "appropriate" for any given situation, when those tragic events occurred, the last thing I wanted to hear was the etheral Mahler. I was outraged and still am. Even if we had a current version of a doctrine of affections, how would one decide what emotion needed to be addressed. If it is music appropriate to Christmas or Easter or a work specifically written for an event, that isn't such a problem. But what about something as personal as an emotion. All I can say is that I was glad I wasn't in the control room of our radio station on that day. I remember a broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the day JFK was killed. A member of the Board came out on stage and announced JFK's passing. The Board member continued by saying that he went to a concert on the day his father had died. And so, the concert continued. I can't recall for sure but they may have played the funeral march from Beethoven's Eroica, but I know they continued with a performance of the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto. Karl