When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I'd been writing since I was 11.

My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's terrific!

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

This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it.

It's the irrational things that interest me.

I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change.

The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila.