Elliott Carter does not write the kind of music that the kids go off to school whistling.

I was always afraid to write music.

I've had the healthy and sobering experience of constantly working with music that is invariably better than any performance of it can be.

I'm on very good terms with all my former wives.

People who don't do jazz think it's black magic. But really, it's just a matter of getting used to it. It's fun to gamble. The trick is not to fall back on the things you've done before.

I found that jazz musicians, possibly more than their classical counterparts, wear long-standing friendships easily and gracefully.