REICHIANA

Martin Bernheimer may have been an almost impossible-to-please, ornery old goat, but at least he had a functional brain and accurate information. It seems that Justin Davidson is into either Orwellian doublespeak or total fabrication (“The Reich Stuff,” by Nov. 17).

Davidson states that composer Steve Reich “has tossed whole segments of Western culture from his life: to make room for a range of other influences.” He then lists six influences, five of which are solidly Western: bebop (American), 12th century organum (Flemish/French), musique concrete (French), baroque canon (largely Italian) and Jewish liturgy (a part of mainstream Western music for hundreds of years; does Davidson consider Ernest Bloch an Eastern composer?).

Davidson then, in the same paragraph, lists three works by Parker, Stravinsky and Bach, implying, by their placement, that these also are not part of Western culture.

Has Western culture descended to such depths among the trendy elite that its achievements are simply redefined as Eastern? What an insult to the East!

PETER OSBALDESTON

Los Angeles

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Small wonder that Steve Reich hates the music of Brahms. (“Fears” is probably a better word.)

If his core audience ever finds out that music can be fun, beautiful, interesting, exciting, he’d probably have to go back to driving a cab or some other honest line of work.

DAVID M. SHERR

Santa Monica