I must respond to Catherine Reese Newton's review of the recent Utah Symphony concert ("Symphony Rachs on," Tribune , Jan. 9). To call Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2 gooey is beyond my understanding. Has Newton never heard music that has moved her to her very soul? That's what I feel when I hear a piece of beautiful, overpowering music, such as that played Friday night. It was obvious that the audience felt the same as I did. It was plain that the young girl sitting with her parents not far from me wasn't finding the piece gooey. What is wrong with loveliness and sublime beauty?

It's reviews such as this that discourage rather than encourage attendance at the symphony, especially when the Utah Symphony is struggling more than ever. The job of a critic is to comment on how well the orchestra plays, not to impose her narrow views on us.

Kaye D. Murdock

Salt Lake City