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

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

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.

I was fortunate to work with Corigliano for a few years in the mid nineties. Meeting and working with him during those formative years was an important experience.

What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?

The only quality that distinguishes the greats from the masses, is the unwillingness to give up.

Be sure to know who your true friends are, because some of the people that you call friends are actually worse than the enemies that you know.

Events in the train of prophecy that had their fulfillment away in the past are made future, and thus by these theories the faith of some is undermined.

To get fifty people to a cocktail party in New York, you ask one hundred. In Hollywood, you invite twenty.

I'll tell you one thing you can't do: you can't put your shoes on, then your socks on.

The spectacle of a field of battle after the combat, is sufficient to inspire Princes with the love of peace, and the horror of war.

There's more bad music in jazz than any other form. Maybe that's because the audience doesn't really know what's happening.

A timeless lesson for a deeply fulfilling life is to discover your calling, that special work or consuming occupation that fully engages your special talents with your passions.

If we all knew how to make that jump from good to great then I think every song would be great.