When I was a kid, I wrote music - from the age of 11 until the age of 18.

People say my music is English. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's not me writing English music, but that English music is becoming more like me.

I think music has gone through a period of something very severe, rather radical, rather the way painting did with cubism.

Minimalism now is a reaction to what came before. It's absolutely of its time. Music moved into the set theory thing, and moved out of it.

My operas and my theatre works are very formal pieces.

I don't think there is much American music.

There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it's not just a collection of notes.