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Inspired by Rilke's letters to an aspiring poet, five leading composers write a personal letter to a young composer – real or imagined – with their thoughts about their craft, their influences and the things they wish they'd known when they were starting out.

Covering themes of luck, resilience, an itinerant life and the seismic effects of Artificial Intelligence, these deeply personal essays reflect the realities of life as a leading composer.

In this essay, Tarik O'Regan writes to an imagined, younger Tarik, sharing the internal and external pressures of a life working in music. O'Regan discusses travel, mental health, the relationship between public image and reality - and the thrill of creation.