LETTERS ANNEX : THE LONG BEACH SYMPHONY

As principal violist of the Long Beach Symphony, I have some observations to add to Daniel Cariaga’s comments about the orchestra (“Silence From Long Beach Symphony,” Jan. 6). Much of the publicity about the crisis has been an attempt to find a place to point the finger of blame. The problems are old and complex, and because there is neither a clear culprit nor any single error, it’s a big waste of time to keep going over the suspects and their alleged crimes.

Most of the criticism of music director Murry Sidlin is misplaced. The music director’s responsibility is artistic and not financial. It is his job to request ample rehearsal, to develop and expand the season and to see to the artistic growth of the orchestra.

Sidlin has been artistically successful and should be evaluated on that basis only. Finances are the responsibility of the management and board of directors, and it is their job to raise money, plan a workable financial framework, and set limits. Only by balancing the orchestra’s artistic aspirations with its financial needs can success be achieved.

I believe that the problem now is a simple one: lack of support. Blame-finding in the press has diverted attention from the very real and impressive accomplishments of the orchestra. Performances of Mahler symphonies (at the end of last season and the beginning of this one) were mobbed, yet Cariaga and others hint that Long Beach is not sophisticated enough to support a symphony. The Times article alludes to the orchestra’s musical success only briefly, in passing.

A symphony orchestra is unlike other businesses in that it is in business to lose money. Clearly, the Long Beach Symphony has been losing too much. With financial support and moral support from individuals, corporations and government, the organization’s fiscal affairs can be righted and its artistic growth can continue.

I think it’s time for everybody to start helping.

KAZI PITALKA South Pasadena ‘AMADEUS’ Martin Bernheimer was not the only one who failed to share the enthusiasm about “Amadeus” (“The Beckmesser Awards,” Dec. 30). I too felt it overdone, historically wrong and resented the characterization of Mozart as almost a moron, despite his well-known bawdiness as a human being.

The only merit of the film is that it popularized Mozart’s music, and made it known to many persons unfamiliar with its beauty.

BRUNO VOLK Los Angeles I had great expectations for “Amadeus,” but it is only an overblown piece of pop TV. Friends argue that “at least it brought Mozart to the attention of the young.”

Right, good! But a responsible professional screenwriter could easily have remedied all of the flaws by trading off a little of the useless cutesy footage for some decent story development.

Yes, Mr. Bernheimer, dishonest is the operative word.

SARA MERIC Santa Monica AN UNFAIR SHAKE? People misquote Shakespeare frequently enough, so it’s no big deal that Michael T. Falotico botched Romeo’s “He jests at scars that never felt a wound” (Calendar Letters, Dec. 30).

My question is: What is the motive of The Times’ editors in leaving such an obvious misquote in Falotico’s letter--a letter which was, after all, highly critical of The Times?

How simple it would have been to do Falotico, Shakespeare and your readers a service by discreetly correcting the quote--it was clear what passage Falotico meant.

PETER GOLDSTEIN Santa Monica We are motiveless. We thought the misquote--”He laughs at scars who never felt the wound”--was A. L. Rowse’s modern-language version of the quote.

FAR NOVA SCOTIA In defense of Tony Randall, who collected a Dan Sullivan Humbug Award along with Lena Horne for yearning to do repertory (“. . . And to All a Bah Humbug!,” Jan. 6), Randall in very recent years joined a company in Nova Scotia to do a season of classics.

Sounds like dedicated obscurity to me, if that’s the test.

CATHERINE PRESTON Santa Barbara CRITICS OF A FEATHER Leonard Feather should be given credit for writing a fairly balanced, if somewhat confusing, review of “Lush Life,” but he blows it in several cases (“What’s New for Linda? An Upbeat Encore,” Nov. 25). Space does not allow a comprehensive analysis of his blurb, but one point screams out for comment.

Of course, many of us appreciate Frank Sinatra’s classic phrasing in “It Never Entered My Mind”:”. . . and order orange juice for one” (unified, unbroken, pause-free).

But wait a minute! Maybe Linda has done something new, something interesting--”. . . and order ORANGE . . . juice for one.” (Oh my, a pause!)

Is it possible the hue of the juice looms larger for her than the juice itself, or the fact of ordering it, or the bleak despair of mouthing an out-worn phrase?

ORANGE. Hmmmm . . . sun, warmth, life, day, fire, Vitamin C, energy, red and gold, royal (Sun King), USC, hell, devil.

This is not an attempt to slay sacred cows (neither those with blue eyes nor those with feathers); but the next time someone seems to strike a blow for artistic freedom, let’s hope it can be done without his (her) wrist being slapped by a Feather.

JACKIE DUFORT AVRECH Los Angeles UP / DOWN THE KING It’s ’85 and Charles is alive. Long live the King. Please don’t put an end to our Charles II stories.

What else have we middle-aged matrons to look forward to on Sunday but stories of our alter hero?

JAN BEASTROM Canoga Park I am very pleased that this running gag with King Charles II is finally over. The letters section should be a place for the Everyman to make public commentary on the issues of the day.

Besides that, Dee Snider looks nothing like Charles II. But he does bear an incredible resemblance to George Washington.

RICHARD DAVIS Riverside NO CREDIT Regarding “Director Sam Peckinpah Dies at 59” (Metro, Dec. 29): Robert Aldrich directed “The Dirty Dozen,” not Sam Peckinpah.

DAISY GERBER Beverly Hills CLASSIC MASSACRE I suppose we owe David Lee Roth some thanks for reminding us of the difference between talent and trash. The Beach Boys’ “California Girls” was a fun, light-hearted song that was thoroughly enjoyable.

The latest version makes my skin crawl and sends me diving under my couch when I hear it. Leave it to a member of Van Halen to totally massacre an American classic.

ADRIENNE MOONEY Brea