Art's a tough game.
Flagello spent almost all his career at the Manhattan School of Music, and the Albany disc represents somewhat of a tribute from his colleagues there. Both Nagata and Vinograde currently serve on the faculty. As with most polemics, the object is to win and to stake out turf, not really to arrive at a truthful or a just appreciation. It turned out that the fight was largely irrelevant to the future, just like the 19 th -century brouhaha between the Wagnerians and the Brahmins. Too much happened in the 20 th century that doesn't march behind either banner.