Dear Nathaniel,

With respect to the concert you're planning in New Haven,
I was visited by three thoughts while I was in the shower.

Consider as your highest priority getting an orchestra with which
you can perform Beethoven's 3rd, 5th and 7th, Mozart's 29th,
39th, 40th or 41st symphonies. Something to fall back on if you
can't get soloists and chorus for the 9th.

A second thought is substituting instruments for the soloists
and chorus in the 9th. If you have a cooperative orchestra,
you can experiment, record, listen to the CD and hear what it
sounds like before making the final decision.

A third thought, which is most intersting to me and which
could help to put you on the musical map, is to transcribe
the 9th as a symphony for pipe organ and orchestra. If your
concert hall didn't have a pipe organ, you could experiment
with one or more of the portativ organs now commonly used
for baroque music.

Just ideas, - think about them when going up Mount Moosilauke
tomorrow.

Jochen