I've come up with another formulation about style: that it's essentially a manifestation of a certain habitual set of limitations. It's what a composer does NOT do that defines a style. ↗
The difference between the student and the born composer is he really hears the thing, and they have to stage it and manipulate it by technical equipment. ↗
But still as compared to many, many orchestras in the world, I think you find a lot more new music and living composers on our programs than many other places. ↗
I find respect for a mediocre British composer, as opposed to a really good American, ridiculous because they automatically respect a composer if he's from England. ↗
I continued to study Math and Physics on my own, but one and a half years later I realized that I did want to be a composer, and after that I never changed my mind. ↗