Fiddling around with salaries

According to the Bonn violinists’ theory (“Pay for Play: Why Stop at the Fiddle Section?” by Randy Lewis, April 8), as there are 16 first violinists in a typical symphony orchestra, perhaps their salary should be divided by 16, as they are, for the most part, all playing the same notes in unison; whereas typically the solo clarinetist is playing solo and in every case the timpanist is doing so.

John Koenig

Los Angeles