Leveling the Playing Field

In “As Symphonies Set in the East ...” (Dec. 9), Mark Swed revealed to his unsuspecting readers several amazing truths. He started by explaining to the ignorant masses that all the so-called Big Five orchestras are dumb and old-fashioned while two California ones are doing just about everything right. Sounds too simplistic? Hey, never mind, where is your stately pride?!

He further enlightened us by proclaiming that music written by mere mediocrities such as Richard Strauss and Bela Bartok (ever heard of those two?) is not worthy of being recorded because they are “second-level composers.”

Conversely, the masterpieces of real geniuses such as Henze, Kancheli, Gubaidulina, Tan Dun, Cage, Lieberson, Harbison, not to mention the great John Adams (only those orchestras that perform his music regularly deserve any praise at all, apparently), are in his opinion substantial and important, and their creators must therefore be considered first-level.

Does that mean composers of the first level are to be regarded as lower in stature than second-level ones? In that case, the residents of the third level (if not all the way up in the attic) are probably Bach and Mozart, because their sublime achievements are higher than everybody else’s.

What an interesting musical house full of surprises this tricky Swed has built!

MARK KASHPER

Sherman Oaks

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Editor’s note: Kashper is associate principal second violinist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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I am an admirer and regular reader of Swed, even though I often disagree with him, for he always has something serious to say about good music. Here, however, he blundered by including Bartok on a short list of “second-level composers.”

Two others mentioned in this breath were Vaughan Williams, with which judgment I take no issue, and Richard Strauss, a more ambiguous case of a composer who was guilty of many musical sins but created a large volume of extraordinarily beautiful music.

Bartok, however, is held by many to be the single most important 20th century composer. This is a position with which I am not inclined to take issue insofar as originality of ideas and their development, and integrity of musical objectives are considered decisive factors.

The significance of Stravinsky, usually considered Bartok’s only serious rival for the honor, seems based on shifting sands in comparison.

ROGER M. LYDON

Santa Barbara