Its all about you, the audience and how you feel when you hear the music, we the composers, have composed for you.
If you like it, then that’s a great endorsement for us. If you hate it, we need to re-think the music we have written.
At the end of the day, no audience, no composer.
The composer, on the other hand, sometimes can get carried away with the art of composing music. Its easy to forget the audience..
Intellectual music has its place and can be appreciated by those interested in listening to something new and challenging. Perhaps using instruments in a different way or to convey a message of pure creativity through sound.
Personally, I get a real kick out of writing something I hear someone whistling after they have heard my work. Now that is very satisfactory.