He died at the same age as Schubert, a composer whose late works, to me, are sublime, in particular his last symphony, his last three piano sonatas and the inexplicably stunning Quintet in C. His 600 songs are quite likely the most enduring part of his legacy. If only I could speak German. He died before his potential was realised, I think, as with Butterworth. Schubert was rather too fond of, and not fussy enough about, the ladies of commerce. Mozart lived only four years longer but his music is a true lifetime's worth with a full maturity of over ten years before his death. Beethoven, my only hero, had he died at 31 would now be remembered for next to nothing. We all develop at different speeds, don't we! One other composer whose music was amazing yet whose life was cut short, at 24, was Lili Boulanger. She might have changed the face of 20th century music had she lived. The deprivation we all suffer as the result of artists who die untimely makes it even harder to believe in a God.