Dear Editor:

I must express my disappointment in the hundreds of people who remained seated during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the music tent last night. Leonard Slatkin had announced that since this wasn’t a ballgame no one had to stand! I did, as well as two people seated in front of me. Part way through another woman stood, and then several

more.

Were Mr. Slatkin’s words so compelling that everyone was afraid to stand? Or, did they just forget what it means to be a citizen?

If you read the program notes you will find that Stravinsky wrote the arrangement in 1941 as a thank-you to the United States for allowing him into our country. He became a citizen in 1945. I must doubt he would have approved either of Mr. Slatkin’s comment or of those in the audience who did not stand.

Gretchen Weber

Snowmass