"I try to resist composing for as long as I can. I really wanna get at something essential before I start manipulating notes, pushing things around. I try to hold things in my mind's ear as long as I can. It's maybe an inefficient way to work, but it has worked for me. I find that if I'm trying to remember... trying to hear something that I can't quite name, it focuses my attention in a certain way. And then I finally start composing when I can't not compose. When I have to write it down." - John Luther Adams, composer