Harrison Birtwistle quotes

This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it. (Harrison Birtwistle)
My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's terrific! View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
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. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
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. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
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. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
It's the irrational things that interest me. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I didn't have a record player. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I think music has gone through a period of something very severe, rather radical, rather the way painting did with cubism. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
Music is such a problem in the time it takes. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I'd been writing since I was 11. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles. (Harrison Birtwistle)
The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
When I was a kid, I wrote music - from the age of 11 until the age of 18. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
You either are or you're not. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
My operas and my theatre works are very formal pieces. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I don't think there is much American music. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I always write the pieces I want to write. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I think there are influences that you open the door to, and influences that come under the door. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
I wrote music as soon as I knew notation. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
When I dealt with set theory, I could never make it be the music that I wanted. (Harrison Birtwistle)
My operas usually come from musical ideas rather than ideas about subject matter. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
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. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it's not just a collection of notes. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle
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. View quote
Harrison Birtwistle