"My musical knowledge is so bad it's embarrassing. When composers discuss music with someone as primitive as myself, they have to talk about it in terms of senses and emotion, rather than keys and tempo."

"I think the whole tension about romanticism is the way it builds and builds, and the moment it's consummated, the tension's over."

"To deny women directors, as I suspect is happening in the States, is to deny the feminine vision."

"As for how criticism of Keats' poetry relates to criticism of my own work, I'll leave that for others to decide."

"One thing I've very quickly learned is that if you wake up every morning worrying about what's in the press, you would go completely and utterly potty."

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."

"Liberalism is a really old British tradition and it has a completely different attitude towards the individual and the relationship between the individual and the state than the collectivist response of Labour, and particularly Old Labour, does."

"I'll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age."