Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.

Truth is a big concept.

Why do we pigeonhole and label an artist? It is a sure way of missing the important, the contradictory, the things that make him or her unique.

Great music does not just make me feel good. It means something. It makes us understand. It makes us happy.

That is why the analogy of stealing does not work. With a thief, we want to know how much money he or she stole, and from whom? With the artist it is not how much he or she took from whom, but what the artist did with it.

To come to grips with creativity, I must ask creative, adventurous questions - the kind which, in all likelihood, cannot be answered.

I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work.