Lest I also be accused of necroing, I notice there's been a discussion of HB's Panic on TOP, most of which has been contributed by the usual "muddle instead of music" suspects, but it did give me a chance to air the following, which I repeat here for your enjoyment:
When Panic was first broadcast on TV, my mother phoned me to ask who this Birtwistle was. I told her he was a prolific and respected composer many of whose works I admired, and asked her what he thought of the piece, to which she replied "it was quite bad, but not as bad as what YOU do."
Nice one! (although not for you, one may suppose); perhaps the most positive way to look at this is to recognise that at least your mother must have listened to some of your music in order to feel able to make that comment. I just hope that she didn't taker her views as far as wishing that you had instead pursued a career as a geneticist.
As they say, you can choose the notes you write but you can't choose your parents...
Best,
Alistair
