7 AUGUST 1999, Page 23

From Odile Taliani Sir: Taki has an indisputable right to

his opin- ion about the Germans, as does A.A. Gill.

The only surprise is that it seems to have escaped a man of Taki's vast culture that Schubert was Austrian, not German. It is like saying Hemingway was English.

Odile Taliani

Salesianergasse 8/11/52, Vienna 1030, Austria