"The composer who is frightened of losing his artistic integrity through contact with a mass audience is no longer awa…"

"For me, the most important thing is the element of chance that is built into a live performance. The very great drawb…"

"I hope my recordings of my own works won't inhibit other people's performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn't a…"

"If the listener does eventually come to the point where he makes the ultimate performance by splicing tapes from othe…"

"I object to background music no matter how good it is. Composers want people to listen to their music, they don't wan…"

"I don't compose. I assemble materials."

"Somehow, suddenly, a musical idea occurs to you; either a whole phrase, or three notes, or a series of chords, someth…"

"So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it."

"If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles."

"Nadia Boulanger was quite aware that as a composition teacher she labored under two further disadvantages: she was no…"