Commissions for full-blown symphonies come rarely in composers’ lives. So to have that moment of glory snatched away must have shocked and humiliated the Queen’s choirmaster. But was Barry Wordsworth justified in depriving music lovers of the chance to make up their own minds?

The new music that reaches the public’s ears is but the tip of a huge mountain of work, most of which will never be performed. Young composers must convince a publisher to take them on. Then they have to persuade private patrons or public bodies such as the Arts Council and the BBC that they are worth backing. After that they must find conductors sympathetic enough to their music to champion it. Finally they have to convince promoters that their work will fascinate and not repel people.

Gant is in good company. Schubert, Bruckner, Mahler and Shostakovich all had masterpieces declared unworthy of public hearing.

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