To the Editor of the Crimson:

I am chuckling at the ludicrous letter written by Mr. Andrew Baggaley '45, which appeared in the Crimson November 24, glorifying the music of Peter I. Tschaikowski. If I am, in Mr. Baggaley's own words, a "self-styled musical intellectual," I can only deduce that he is a "self-styled musical degenerate."

As self-appointed spokesman for the "musical intellectuals" of the Class of '45, I am naturally indignant at Mr. Baggaley's misrepresentation of our point of view. According to Mr. Baggaley, we "charge that Tschaikowski is over sentimental, sacrificial, and entirely without claim to immortality." While we admit the first two charges as our own, we challenge Mr. Baggaley to prove that we are also responsible for the third.

Our true attitude toward Tschaikowski is simply this: because of his over-sentimentality, his superficiality, and especially his lack of musical ingenuity, he cannot compare as a composer with numerous other masters. Certainly, we realize that much of his music is great; we own and play many Tschaikowski records. But we scoff at Mr. Baggaley's claims that each of the last three symphonies and the two concertos is a "completely satisfying vessel of musical expression." Willard J. Hertz '45.