The moral? If you want your work put on, don't bother going to Music College, learning your craft, sending your music to people who'll never read it, going in for the same competitions everyone else is going for, trying to scrape a living while you write in the little unused corners of your spare time that aren't taken up by your domestic life.
No, instead become a pop star, because apparently that's a bit of a draw for the powers that be in classical music.
Don't get me wrong, these people may be talented and their work may be really good. May be. But let's face it, they got the gig because they were who they were. If they want to see how much their talent counts for, next time let them submit it anonymously.
Finally, spare a thought for poor old classical music, poking around in the bottom of the barrel for something the public might actually pay to see. Without wishing to labour the obvious, putting on works from composers the public quite likes might be a good place to start. Why not stop commissioning Birtwhistle and Rihm, whose stuff the mass audience cordially loathes, and encourage instead composers who care about whether the listener has a good time and can understand what's going on?
After all John Adams can't be the only one who can do it.
