It doesn't need to be imagined, it needs to be written down.

But the difference between the little pieces and the big pieces - I'm not actually sure which are the little pieces. With some of the big pieces, it's a lot of musical running around, whereas the little pieces, you can say everything you want to say.

I've been called a minimalist composer for more than 30 years, and while I've never really agreed with the description, I've gotten used to it.

I don't know that I make a big distinction between the big pieces and the little pieces, because I don't experience them in that way. I mean, by the same token, you're out touring with a band and then you're writing string quartets, and in a funny way, isn't it all the same, in a way? It's all just music.

I don't know what I'm doing and it's the not knowing that makes it interesting.

I'd say it's just part of the world that we live in; it's part of the music world.

You get up early in the morning and you work all day. That’s the only secret.