I was trying to do something that seemed very natural and easy but which bridged that gulf between the singing voice and the speaking voice.

It's amazing how fast generations lose sight of other generations. One of the first things the young composers who come to work with me say is that they want to write music people will like, instead of gaining their credentials by being rejected by the audience.

Most of the important composers in our country are clustered in the Northeast.

I was trying to do something that seemed very natural and easy but which bridged that gulf between the singing voice and the speaking voice.

I find it enormously valuable to be sure that that the pacing is what I think it is and that the scenes have the shape I think they have musically and dramatically.

What is American music? The most satisfying answer I've come across is that it was a kind of natural comfort with the vernacular which is diverse and regional; it's not one particular set of sounds.

When I've seen my operas in Europe, they have always struck me as more American than when I hear them here. I can't tell you what that phenomenon is.