Musicae Commentary

Thank you for Mark Swed’s piece on Speculum Musicae (“Speculum Musicae Still Shows Skill in Complex,” Calendar, July 16). Although I was unaware of the group or the concert, I was very interested to read his thoughts on the current place of academic music. Music has become so much more diverse since the ‘50s or the ‘70s and the boundaries between serious and commercial music have become so blurred.

It is also especially gratifying to find performing arts commentary in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. There has been too little direct coverage of issues related to creativity, directions in the various arts fields and--to retreat to the academy for a moment--contextualizing the concert-going experience. In a place and in an age where there is arguably no dominant culture or aesthetic, and where commercial and media forces have transformed creativity, public discussion of the role of the arts is of great importance to many who live here.

DAVID PLETTNER

Loretta Livingston & Dancers

Los Angeles