Still, American composers working in France have had a pretty hard time.

Writing tonal music now, you are not writing into the 19th Century.

I have friends who have a CD mastering plant in Hollywood and they are very sceptical about European record labels' understanding of digital technology.

I remember once, when I started writing for the alto saxophone, a saxophonist told me to think of it as being like a cross between an oboe and a viola, but louder.

There's another way of making music, by touching the lives and feelings of ordinary people.

Still, American composers working in France have had a pretty hard time.

I currently spend a lot of time thinking about orchestration and every detail of a piece.