Harrison Birtwistle

"My attitude to writing is.. it's like when you do wallpapering, you know, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet, you think: "Oh my God that's horrible..." And then your friends come and say: "Who did this wallpapering? It's terrific!""

"I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it."

"Composing's not voluntary, you know. There's no choice, you're not free. You're landed with an idea and you have responsibility to that idea."