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Hi Xwordfan, no it isn't but I was happy for a crossword after glancing briefly at the other one!!! Loved Ludwig on the idiot box.

Hi Geeker, I think the Private Eye Christmas Crossword is my favourite and most eagerly anticipated crossword of the year.

Well that was a struggle. After finding a few obscure composers by guesswork I figured I needed a systematic approach, so I scraped wikipedia's list of composers (5000 of them) and turned it into a plain text file of surnames I could search. I even wrote some code that could strip the vowels and return any composers with N letters and M consonants, for when I had an idea for how many letters had to go in the grid.

Even then there was at least one composer not in the wikipedia list. They have a wikipedia page as a composer but not in the list page. Now what's my wikipedia password...

Got 1a (i) wrong at first, probably the same wrong one as previously mentioned here (as Homer Simpson would say... "d--!") and was convinced I had 8a (iii) correct but then there wasn't enough letters for (i) and (ii).

I'm not totally sure I've actually "got" all of them, possibly I've only got some clues because I've filled the letters from the other direction, so I should maybe go round all the clues one last time and check. Oh no 13a (i)....

You can find a discussion of 13a (i) in posts 36-42 with probably enough information to figure out who it is. My last one.

Well, I don't get asymmetric blocking. Got 1d straight away.

Chien-Shiung Wu's cobalt work reflects my ignorance of the composers. Almost total.

Ho, Ho, Ho.

Happy Festivus.

I’ve completed the grid, and got all the answers (I think) but I’m curious about some of the parsings I couldn’t get. Any explanations welcome.
2a. Northern team downing soft drink.
7a. Unfinished oratorio by German - one regularly dismissed (I get the unfinished oratorio but not the rest).
13a. Set of organ pipes first switched off.
7d. New Years gifts French joiner dropped in French city.
7d. Kings join expert with money.
8d. Fate’s no choice of letters.
9d. Youngster entertains priest and dancing girl at islands capital.
10d. Species of acacia will sway or rock, we’re told.

davids - 2a - side is 11 (I + I); 7a - one regularly dismissed is N; 7 rennets are New Year gifts; kings are k + r and I think oner can mean ace; 9d lass conyaining p for priest (?) and alma - a dancing girl ...

Per Chambers…
P = priest is valid
Oner = an expert (so an ace)

Davids
Register is the set of organ pipes.

Struggling with
8ac 2 Involved in tribal feud.
9ac 2. Heartless Hungarian forename
7dn 3 Formula 1 has the measure of cab.
Have crossing letters but any hints would be gratefully accepted