Bernard Sherman replies to me (indirectly): >>Oh, I don't know. Any time I hear a condemnation of an entire approach, >>genre, composer, period, and so forth, I tend to think that the denouncer >>either hasn't heard nearly enough to judge or is simply crying about how >>much he hates spinach and that spinach should no longer be grown. > >I can certainly understand why Steven Schwartz objects to the statements >ascribed to me. But let me confirm Dave Lampson by noting that I never >actually said them. I did argue that period performance is no longer being >held to *higher* standards than the mainstream, and that this represents an >increased acceptance of HIP performance as something normal. But I never >said a word about performers "ceasing to hold themselves to high >standards." I've actually gone back to read and reread what Bernard Sherman actually wrote. I had been relying on what people told me he wrote - usually a very bad idea. What he wrote, I wholeheartedly agree with. In fact, it's a beautifully written and argued article, one of the best things I've seen in the NY Times recently. I'm definitely ordering Sherman's book Inside Early Music. I urge list members to check out the URL http://www.kdsi.net/~sherman/ninth.html for the article in question and http://www.kdsi.net/~sherman/rifkin.html for a sample chapter of Inside Early Music. I have absolutely no financial interest or personal connection with Bernard Sherman. Steve Schwartz, eating crow, not for the first time