T$S drools.(FORUM)(Letter to the editor)

How can one issue offend three times? Just joking, almost. Bet you thought it would be about the David A. Rich articles. No.

First, the Mahler No. 2 review by KWN. Unless I am mistaken, this Telarc was recorded in the early 80's and included a chorus. You don't name the chorus, but if it was before 1984, it would have been the Washington University Civic Chorus. I sang with that chorus from about 1970 until 1984. We did, indeed, perform the Mahler No. 2 at Powell Symphony Hall, but I'm not sure of the exact year. Blame your vinyl recording's sound on the recording company, not the orchestra or Maestro Slatkin.

In that hall, the orchestra sounds superb, and although I didn't always care for Slatkin's interpretations, he gets most of the credit for moving this orchestra into the top 5 or ten orchestras in the U.S. As a St. Louisan, I have attended concerts since about 1952 and still do.

Then, John Puccio criticizes Slatkin again. From the foregoing, I just don't get it. It would be fine if he says he likes another conductor more, but not in the obsequious manner that he does, and then tosses him a bone for his "Adagio". Here again, the problem is more with the recording (I never liked the EMI recordings of our orchestra).

Last, I am a little surprised that Steven G. Baird either didn't recognize the problem with his preamp or doesn't run periodic tests and checks on his equipment. To be a reviewer one would think that good maintenance would be a given. Maybe all your reviewers should be required to cycle new equipment through their systems at a reasonable interval, even if they aren't scheduled to do an equipment review, or at least perform some rudimentary testing. My modified and tweaked quasi-passive preamp, based on the Corey Greenberg design published in Stereophile is still going after more than 11 years. Admittedly, I don't put many hours on it.

Frank S. Thomas III

Ballwin (St. Louis), MO