Submitted by Dr.Peter C.Lynn, Mar 13, 2008 14:57

Dear Mr.Nordlinger, One phrase a critic must never use, "of all time", which you applied to Mr.Levine's conducting. No doubt Jimmy was and remains a wunderkind, and his Tristan was great, but one "of the great Wagner conductors of...all time" is a meaningless statement. This writer, Vienna born, has heard in his days the following conductors celebrating Tristan: Richard Strauss, Franz Schalk, Karl Boehm, H.von Karajan, Erich Kleiber, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, and others. Every one of them, in their individual fashion, conducted a Tristan, which a critic could have foolishly referred to as the "best", though you're the first who used this pointless hyperbole. Forgive me for adding that your style could use a little more polish. Best wishes,

Dr.Peter C.Lynn

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