There was definitely a period during which a lot of music seemed to be written to satisfy academic committees, which had to approve of you for you to be taken seriously. In more recent years that academic control has been loosened, and this has finally allowed a lot of composers of my generation to pursue successful careers. Perhaps a Pierre Boulez may still think we should never put another note on paper — but we’re no longer controlled by one point of view. And I think that’s wonderful.

-Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (found here)