Harrison Birtwistle Quotes

I think music has gone through a period of something very severe, rather radical, rather the way painting did with cubism.

Minimalism now is a reaction to what came before. It's absolutely of its time. Music moved into the set theory thing, and moved out of it.

The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila.

I'm not a music lover in the sense that I look for something to have on. I've never had that attitude to music.

Music is such a problem in the time it takes.

I think there are influences that you open the door to, and influences that come under the door.

One thing I've tried to do in writing music is take on very basic things, very archetypal things.

People say my music is English. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's not me writing English music, but that English music is becoming more like me.

The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles.

I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.

I'm not an architectural composer.

In the end it doesn't matter what you do.

The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names.

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.

When I dealt with set theory, I could never make it be the music that I wanted.

This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it.

My operas usually come from musical ideas rather than ideas about subject matter.

I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve ... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change.

I don't think there is much American music.

When I was a kid, I wrote music - from the age of 11 until the age of 18.

I always write the pieces I want to write.

I didn't have a record player.

You either are or you're not.

It's the irrational things that interest me.

My operas and my theatre works are very formal pieces.