Richard Rodney Bennett

People ask what was the first piece of music I wrote. There was no first piece.

I just scribbled away and eventually a C-major chord was there. I didn't ever decide I was going to be a composer. It was like being tall. It's what I was. It's what I did.

I was a catastrophe at Science and Games, but the good thing about Quaker schools is that they encourage you in those subjects for which you show an aptitude.

Boulez seemed to me to be a guy who wrote laws. Like a company lawyer.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

Shows in the '70s and '80s were a lot more provocative. Shows that are coming out now - like 'Black-Ish,' 'The Carmichael Show' - are showcasing people of color in a new way. It's not stereotypical.