The theatre only knows what it's doing next week, not like the opera, where they say: 'What are we going to do in five years' time?' A completely different attitude.

When I dealt with set theory, I could never make it be the music that I wanted.

I'm not a music lover in the sense that I look for something to have on. I've never had that attitude to music.

I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.

The theatre only knows what it's doing next week, not like the opera, where they say: 'What are we going to do in five years' time?' A completely different attitude.

The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles.

I don't think there is much American music.