Some thoughts on what motivates a composer to write music. “Late Beethoven, it’s a load of rubbish isn’t it?”. So began the viva voce exam marking the end of my 3-year degree course. Late Beethoven, for the record, is not a load of rubbish. But it’s not an easy listen, often difficult to understand. And I had to say something convincing to the panel of examiners who knew that it wasn’t rubbish but wanted to hear what rubbish I’d come out with to defend it. A few years later,
