45 Quotes by Harrison Birtwistle

My operas and my theatre works are very formal pieces.

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

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

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

You either are or you're not.

It's the irrational things that interest me.

I didn't have a record player.

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

I'm not an architectural composer.