Spoleto sculpture
Sir: I was, to say the least, horrified by the malicious article that your ' Will Waspe ' penned against me which you have published in your paper on February 17. Its innuendoes are short of libellous but I hope that you will at least allow me to clear up a few points for your readers. As I have personally explained to Miss Mahler, whom I admire as a person and respect as an artist, my quarrel is not with her but with the Comune of Spoleto for placing one of her sculptures smack in front of the ancient cathedral, an unfortunate choice which I was not the only one to decry and for which I, as director of the Spoleto Festival, was unjustly blamed by the many distinguished artists who visit the town.
Perhaps a visit by Mr ' Waspe ' to Spoleto might have shown him (the statue is still in its place) why I objected to its location. I did not object to two other sculptures by Miss Mahler which were quite appropriately placed in the public gardens. My action, by the way, was not entirely unjustified, since at the beginning of the Festival I was appointed a member of the " Commissione del pubblico ornato " which is supposed to safeguard the aesthetic purity of the ancient city. During my sixteen years of work at the Festival I have had to fight many a battle to protect the architectural beauty of the town, and anyone who loves Ialy and sees the daily defacement of its landscape and monuments might at least appreciate if not always approve my efforts to do so.
Of the shocking attempt of unknown hoodlums to damage the sculpture not even Miss Mahler, if I am to believe her own words, held me in any way responsible. All my life, as my friends can testify and my works have illustrated, I have fought against violence and intolerance. Is it plausible that in my old age I should associate myself with such a demagogic action?
Finally let me make it clear that there is not the slightest con nection between me or the Spoleto Festival and Mr Rowdon's play about Gustav Mahler. I have never met Mr Rowdon nor seen or read his play. Besides, I cannot abide plays about composers and it is most likely, had I seen Mr Rowdon's play, that I would sympathise with Miss Mahler.
Gian Carlo Menotti S. Cristina di Valgardene, Italy
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