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.

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.

Music is such a problem in the time it takes.

It's the irrational things that interest me.

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

In the end it doesn't matter what you do.

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.