Claude Vivier saw himself as a composer who put a tremendous amount of work and technical skill into his music, but felt he was often harshly judged by critics for each unconventional decision he made.  He rejected the success-oriented lifestyle which would have relied on established artistic structures, prevented him from risk-taking and finding his own direction.  He felt that new music should be marketed like pop music (which was derived from new music), and not treated as an exception.  He believed that in North America the only way for a composer to work was to associate with a particular group determined to devote its time to a composer and share in his creative efforts.

Vivier also had definite ideas about the place of nationalism in his music.  He said in an interview:

Even though Montreal is my true home, I am a citizen of the world.  And being a “quebecois” without any restriction whatsoever is my way of truly becoming a citizen of the world.  Music is universal, despite a large number of superficial features easily recognizable and largely dependent upon geographic and climatic conditions.  Something is happening here in Canada and Quebec that must be said and can only be said here.  Unfortunately we lack vision and the financial resources necessary to write and perform here works for large ensembles in which what is typically “quebecois” or Canadian could be expressed clearly.  Also, festivals and concerts of new music amount to very little.