I like the idea that [Mahatma] Gandhi is appearing now in an opera hall in all these different places, and people kind of think about it again.

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

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.

A new language requires a new technique. If what you're saying doesn't require a new language, then what you're saying probably isn't new.

So the real drama for me is balancing live performances and writing, and one of the ways I balance it is I write in hotel rooms. That's not exactly balancing. Actually, writing in hotel rooms means that I'm refusing to deal with the problem.

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

What came to me as a revelation was the use of rhythm in developing an overall structure in music.