The London music world isn't a particularly cohesive place. And when I'm composing, I'm not very friendly. I need isolation.

- George Benjamin

When you love a teacher very much - as I did Olivier Messiaen - you do have to leave them.One of the things that separated me from Messiaen was my de…

- George Benjamin

Concerts are dangerous because anything can happen - which is one of the joys as well.

- George Benjamin

I began conducting when I was in school, around age 12, because I was writing little theater pieces and wanted to perform them. And then somehow I go…

- George Benjamin

The feelings of being in the audience and being on the podium are very far apart. When you're onstage and something goes wrong, you can do something …

- George Benjamin

When I lose direction, it becomes very hard to write. I actually get a physical pain, as if my subconscious knows better. That may sound mystical and…

- George Benjamin

It it's true that fastidiousness and attention to detail is very much in my genes - if you knew my parents, you'd see that this is something I've inh…

- George Benjamin

I always say that I can help someone who can already compose, but if they can't, I can't help them. I can advise on technical issues, of course, like…

- George Benjamin

It's not only that I want to get things right when I'm composing but that my imagination often gets lost, and then I have to wait until I come back t…

- George Benjamin