Don Satz writes: >Getting back to Strauss in general, I consider his music to have a firm >foot in the 19th century, and my view is that his music does not represent >significant advances or innovations of the 20th century. Let us first of all agree that the concept of a composer of the century is arbitrary and all but meaningless. I personally would have chosen Bartok if somebody had threatened me with bodily harm if I did not make a choice. That said, the interesting point here is the validity of the concept of significant advances or innovations. It is clearly a meaningful concept, but only to a point. Pushed too far, the concept makes music sound like a branch of science or technology. Pushed not far enough, it denies to classical music its place as a living part of contemporary culture. Professor Bernard Chasan Physics Department, Boston University