The lunacy of Brexit notwithstanding, Britain isn’t badly off these days in terms of international clout. As I sit writing this we’re wreathed in gold at the Olympics. And no less significantly – though it doesn’t get the TV coverage – we’re generating arguably the best new music being written in the world at large.
A week or so ago Exterminating Angels, Thomas Adès’s new opera, had a seriously successful premiere at the Salzburg Festival (I wasn’t there, but the reviews were generally in awe of its achievement). And at home, the Proms have had a run of first-rate premieres by composers such as Mark Simpson, Helen Grime, Huw Watkins – names that may not be household ones but carry considerable weight and still more promise on the international music circuit.
