Alma’s musical ode

I was surprised that Mike Boehm’s fascinating article about “Alma” (“ ‘Alma’ Is a Muse in Motion,” Sept. 26) did not have a sidebar mentioning Tom Lehrer’s brilliant song about Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel.

Like Joshua Sobol, Mr. Lehrer was struck by Alma’s gravitation toward husbands of genius: “Alma, tell us! / All modern women are jealous / You should have a statue in bronze / For bagging Gustav and Walter and Franz.” The lyrics and melody are priceless, and you don’t have to pay $125 to schlep around a theater for three hours.

Hollace Brown

Los Angeles