The Associated Press story about a Palmyra, Syria, symphony concert that you printed on page one of your May 6 paper would have meant more to symphony-oriented readers had the story identified the “renowned Russian conductor” mentioned in the lead (as the uncut story on your website did in its ninth paragraph).
The conductor was Valery Gergiev. I appreciated Gergiev’s opening statement that with the concert “we protest against the barbarians who destroyed monuments of world culture” in Palmyra.
JAMES G. DEANE
Leeds