For me, writing music is a way of processing the world. It's not a concrete thing, as in, "This piece is about giraffes." It's much more of an emotional sort of thing. I want people to find something out about… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I fall into that too! I learned that in graduate school. You just talk about your music in a specific way, and that separates people from you. But some composers like that. Schoenberg liked that. He wanted… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share
If the music is good, and if it makes sense as a strong structure and as a drama, and things happen as a result… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
Of course I love when people are quiet, but I also love when people are comfortable. I love when people emote. The flip side of having a totally silent audience is that they're less likely to react to you in the space, and I think that's one of the great things about performing live: you get energy from the audience,… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share
I don't think anyone listening to my music needs any special knowledge. They don't need to have a background in contemporary music. They don't… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
The goal is that people will find something of themselves in it. But you don't need to know what a hexachord is! You don't need to know what serialism is. You don't need to know anything technical. It's more about the state of mind of being open and listening to what's really going on. And I think that the more… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share
Sometimes you feel some artists are doing the same thing that you're doing but in a different field. But they have the same approach.… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
I have this ideal listener, as John Cage did. This listener doesn't bring expectations that my music will fit into some part of music… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
There are some superficial things that connect me to the stream. There's instrumentation, there's timbre, use of electronics, the way that samples are used, the way the electric guitar is used. I'm thinking of things that are particular to this era. But I don't always feel particularly close to the music of my peers. I often feel that I have… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share
There's some ambient music that doesn't do anything. I wouldn't say that that's narrative. It is narrative in that it creates a sort of… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
I feel like there's not this black-and-white division between concert hall music and music that bands play in a bar. I don't know if… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
I write my music with the idea that it will appeal to all of those people, and I want them to go in with… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
It's only when it's smoothed out by history and we try to make sense of it - this incredibly complicated period when everyone's doing… — Missy Mazzoli Copy Share Image
