Classical music then and now

Yesterday On an Overgrown Path posted a photograph:

Igor Stravinsky greets Mistlav Rostropvich at the Royal Academy of Music, London in June 1964. Stravinsky was in England to conduct his Symphony of Psalms and Variations on the Bach Chorale Von Himmel Hoch da komm' ich her at the English Bach Festival in Oxford, and rehearsals were held at the Royal Academy. 

Mrs Stravinsky has her back to the camera, while the figure in the background extreme upper-left is the 20 year old John Tavener.

Move forward 45 years and what do we find? This:

Artists must now not only show proof of their identity, including fingerprints, but also show they have an established sponsor happy to take full financial responsibility for them and to vouch for all their activities while on British soil. Small organisations must pay a fee of £400 to become an official "sponsor", while larger groups must pay £1,000.

Is it any wonder this blog has a nostalgic tinge?