I write because the act of writing itself is what drives me. It's a private communication within myself - nothing more or less. This doesn't mean I do not want to share with people.

Part of what makes music so interesting is the lack of consensus on just about any given topic.

While I believe there is certainly a phenomenon of timelessness in art, the people writing today can comment on today in an exclusive manner.

If people want insights, if they want to swim in the currents of their own time and share the experiences of their time, then it makes sense to engage with the artists of one's own time.

I don't think performance out of duty yields very much. Coercion is never the way to go.

My own goals center around writing the best music that I can, and only I can determine whether or not I've succeeded in accomplishing that.

Just as all pop music is not simplistic, not all contemporary concert music is complex. Often what a person connects with goes much deeper than generalized issues of simplicity and complexity.

Many critics have become de facto teachers. That is a lot of responsibility, and I think it should be wielded with care. Most people appreciate sincere guidance.

The best critics leave the reader curious to pursue something further, but still to let the reader have his or her own honest, unique opinion.

Mazur was a remarkable artist. During our time in Rome we became friends. I would often perform my works for him at the piano.

A healthy dialogue is always good.

Those who were afraid of the dark and always refused to throw themselves inside it. Never got to see and feel how beautiful it is, to meet and greet one's own demons.

Maybe I’m still the mermaid. Maybe the ocean is your hand.

The breath of being is all that matters in this moment.

The best lies are based on the truth, at least in part

Our children are the only possessions we can take to heaven.

I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be my parents' son.

I stand on principle where many people stand on money.

With repetition, the alternate approaches become clear, options open.

Contemplating an object fixedly with the mind, asking myself, 'What is it?' without thinking of any other object or relating it to anything else for hours on end.

Making mistakes doesn't mean that what you did was a failure, or the wrong take. It was just a 'mis-take.' You need to go back and do another take. In each take there is a lesson.