I work very fast, keeping the ideas flowing but making sure they come out the way I intended.

There's another way of making music, by touching the lives and feelings of ordinary people.

It's rather like attending a university seminar where you are talking to a few gifted specialists who deliver a paper to an audience of their peers. That's one way of making music.

It makes sense to invest in new work. It's almost like having a research department in a scientific laboratory. You have to try things out. You'll make some bad mistakes. Some things will fail but at least you'll energise the organisation.

I know that John Adams has had a very hard time directing French ensembles.

I have friends who have a CD mastering plant in Hollywood and they are very sceptical about European record labels' understanding of digital technology.