Let Strauss Be Strauss

Mark Swed’s review of the L.A. Philharmonic program that included music of Mahler and Richard Strauss resurrects the wearisome canard of Strauss the admirer of Hitler and hater of Jews (“Mahler’s Songs Speak Louder Than ‘Zarathustra,’ ” Aug. 15).

Will the day ever come when great music, of which there is precious little being produced these days, is taken on its own merits as artistic sound which speaks to the best in us? I hope I live long enough.

JEROME KLEINSASSER

Bakersfield