My relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra brought me many times to London and I will always reflect positively on that early period of development with them - their patience their warmth their dedication.

They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life.

Music is a language and different people who come along are each using that language to do something different but all coming at it in a similar vein inasmuch as it's always community based and for the most part nonprofit. Most bands don't ever come within a mile of profit - clearly these people are not playing music to make money.

But I did go to music really early on even when I was 4 or 5 I was responding to music probably in ways other kids were not.

Music is my life professionally for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.

I realised a long time ago that instrumental music speaks a lot more clearly than English Spanish Yiddish Swahili any other language. Pure melody goes outside time.

I like when guests come over early and we chop veggies and talk and play music.

There are certain sounds that I've found work well in nearly any context. Their function is not so much musical as spatial: they define the edges of the territory of the music.

I'm clearly most well known for my music. Eventually ultimately I'll be writing books. I'm still writing articles now. I just consider myself a writer.

But I feel music has a very important role in ritual activity and that being able to join in musical activity along with dancing could have been necessary at a very early stage of human culture.