Last year, having barely dipped his toes into his 30s, musician Timo Andres was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for The Blind Banister—a three-movement composition for the piano inspired by Beethoven. Shortly after, The New Yorker called Andres “nothing if not a millennial”—a vague description that offered little insight into the composer’s fiercely intelligent character or critically acclaimed career. Here, from his kitchen in Brooklyn, Timo muses on some of the parallels between his creative process and cooking—his favorite pastime.

Would you describe yourself as both a composer and a pianist?
I prefer to think of myself simply as a musician. My dad brought an electric keyboard home when I was 6 years old, and I began to play and furiously write down pieces that I created m...