Music should resonate with people on an emotional level. That's one of the criterions I use for an idea. Does it speak simply and directly without obfuscation and without being unnecessarily complex...

My mother's background was Scottish. She came from an old family, some of whom lived in upper New York State and some of whom had come over from Scotland.

The piano is the instrument I can play the most.

I was drawn to West Africa. I did listen to a bunch of different styles of African music, and there was something about the percussion and the drums of West Africa, and the energy, that felt so...

What I love about 'Game of Thrones' is that the positioning of the music is so well done, because it's not overdone. When the music cuts in, it really has something to say.

The principal task of a conductor is not to put himself in evidence but to disappear behind his functions as much as possible. We are pilots, not servants.

The Greeks said the artist doesn't actually have to travel and look around. You stay where God has put you, and you dig as deep as you can. This is what I've done.

The biggest success for an artist is to know that his work is being recognised around the world.

No matter where you're born or what country you're from, you connect with 'This is America.' It speaks to people; it connects right to your soul. It calls out injustice, celebrates life, and reunites...

Whereas Schaeffer and Henry were working like samplers, their idea was to capture those sounds which couldn't be serially calibrated because they were too complex in character.

I love The Edge's guitar style; it is unique. There is an ancient world resonating in his guitar sound.

I've worked with Jonah Nolan on several projects. I really love collaborating with him.

I think we have to assume we have one life. Though, having said that, I did write a song called 'You Only Live Twice.' I'll settle for that.

I think that of my 21 symphonies, each has its own place.

One thing I am certain of is that, if I have done anything good in music, it was, first, because of my father, and second, because of my wife.

I'm being offered great movies by great directors and that's what I love, that's what I've dreamed to do, and that's what I do all day long. So I have to do it.

Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.

When I'm writing a song, I try to be the character.

The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.

I don't hate pop music. I liked the Beatles, but then, I knew them.

I wanted to be a film composer because I heard scores that could stand alone, from 'Vertigo' to 'Star Wars' to 'La Dolce Vita,' because this music has so much history. They're weighed with the history...

Though 'KK' is an urban film and has more scope for fast-paced numbers, I've made sure that there's a bit of melody in all the songs.

'The Phantom of the Opera' is about love. It's as simple as that.

I think music can change your life.

Tchaikovsky was one of the great melody writers of all time.

I think touring is an important part of the life of an orchestra. Not only sharing with other audiences, but bringing that sense of family that you get back home. The sense of growing deeper into the...

As soon as I choose the timbre of an instrument, that dominates how I compose.

The laws of morals and the laws of music are the same.

I would have been a geologist.

Gamelan instruments are exotic and mysterious.