An article in the NY Times today (2/28) asks who were the giants of 20th century composition? The writer, David Schiff, then offers a shortlist of them (although admitting it is glaringly incomplete). Who, according to Schiff, were the giants of all the musical giants? Richard Strauss The Tunesmiths (Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen) Louis Armstrong Dmitri Shostakovich Arnold Schoenberg Igor Stravinsky Any comments? Bear in mind Schiff is testing some critical values for a musical culture that has broken down the old barriers between high art and low, and between performance and composition. John Dalmas [log in to unmask]