marcus Maroney <[log in to unmask]> (et al!!) asks me what it is that I find so irritating about the opening of the Janacek Sinfonietta. Well try these: raucous, whingeing/whining, repetitive, grating and lacks originality (in the sense that it is the kind of cliche'd musical sounds one might hear from a child shrieking out in the playground). The more often I hear it the less I ever want to do so again. I can see a few virtues too but majestic is certainly not one of them! Anyway it irritates me greatly. I have no problem with Janacek. I've seen nearly all the operas and enjoyed them greatly (even House of the Dead!) although I would venture that, like Britten, they are better by far in the theatre rather than as a domestic listening experience. But I didn't think I was seeking agreement, disagreement or retribution! I asked what other openings had a similar effect on people!? It seems not many. And here's one that seems to me rotten right the way through - Ronald Binge's "Sailing by" - I imagine it as a piece played in purgatory - a short loop of tape turning endlessly until you scream for release and the men in white coats come to carry you away! BBC Radio 4 used to (still do?) end their daily transmission with this - probably to ensure that people turned their radios off before falling asleep! We never let it get that far. I have a problem with Bartok too. John G. Deacon Home page: www.ctv.es/USERS/j.deacon