article_snippet: In an age of overpaid footballers and gruesome shows like The X Factor, an age when the mediocre wear garlands tossed by dullards, here is a man who has truly earned his laurel crown.
article_snippet: When his received the weighty badge of the Order of Merit last summer (‘Don’t try conducting with this thing on!
article_snippet: the Queen told the Queen at the investiture) it was formal recognition that the Queen belonged to the best of the best.
article_snippet: When his went there aged 25 in 1980
article_snippet: The question is: what can he do for London and Britain?
article_snippet: In 1999, a critic memorably described he on the podium:
article_snippet: Now he is coming home for what he calls ‘one last challenge’.