We're not talking about an elite art form from the price point of view. We have a building in L.A. that is incredibly open, exciting, inviting, and all that, and there's no reason for this music not to be part of everybody's everyday life.

After 30 years I have realized the greatest pleasure I can get is to have learnt.

The sort of commercial parameters of classical music changed after the [World War II] , and the whole industry became more backward-looking.

I realized that the European dogma is not necessarily the only way to look at things.

I've learned a lot from the masters of orchestration, like Ravel and Stravinsky.

I'm composing more than before. I'm cutting down on conducting.

This country, and the West Coast, especially, is bad at preserving any cultural legacy.