[Sordel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif mightn't it be a little too "What?" for nascent listeners?

"Come Out" was performed (um, played) at a Reich festival in London some years ago, and there was shouting from members of the audience in protest at it. I think that we tend to forget that the very repetitive music that was first identified with minimalism was deeply offensive, especially to listeners whose idea of classical music came from the Second Vienna School. Today, when composers use repetition, they tend to do it an apologetic "we grew out of this" sort of a way, and yet our ears have got used to minimalism everywhere.

I just think that with Arvo Part: well it sounds great. If you start off with minimalism by saying "Yeah, I really like this" then aren't you in some senses going wrong?

With other, originally shocking music (e.g. The Rite of Spring) it's impossible to recapture how mould-breaking it was ... with minimalism I still think that it's just about possible.

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordel /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Come Out" by Steve Reich.

This one is interesting... but annoying.

 

[FalconP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordel /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Come Out" was performed (um, played) at a Reich festival in London some years ago, and there was shouting from members of the audience in protest at it. I think that we tend to forget that the very repetitive music that was first identified with minimalism was deeply offensive, especially to listeners whose idea of classical music came from the Second Vienna School. Today, when composers use repetition, they tend to do it an apologetic "we grew out of this" sort of a way, and yet our ears have got used to minimalism everywhere.

Extreme repetitive, sampled music is even more deeply offensive today: now that the technology has fallen to the laps of the hip-hop crowd and turntable DJs, the music-listening public is subjected to the tyranny of rubber-stamp speech samples.

Reich's "Different Trains" annoys me a lot: shorn of the political content, the music is nothing but a "String Quartet Tribute to DJ Whatever" -- and yes, many of these DJ Whatevers claim themselves to be social and political aware.

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FalconP /img/forum/go_quote.gif Reich's "Different Trains" annoys me a lot: shorn of the political content, the music is nothing but a "String Quartet Tribute to DJ Whatever" -- and yes, many of these DJ Whatevers claim themselves to be social and political aware.

I LOOOOVE Different Trains.

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean.Perrin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Either way…the Hillier version is a masterpiece. With just (gorgeous) voices and mallet ensemble there is a surprising amount of variation, and everything was treated with shocking direction and stylistic genius. He has seen something in this piece that I think few before him had. Just buy it…it's incredible.

Just wanted to check back in after I acquired the Paul Hillier recording of Terry Riley's In C. It is indeed a fantastic recording—one for the ages, I'd say—and posits Riley as a minimalist pioneer too creatively restless to stick to with one musical direction in the same way that Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt or Steve Reich did (and do). Suddenly, I understand why I never really think of Riley as having a sound. Listening to Hillier's treatment, you can imagine Reich seeing the score of In C and instantly realizing that it contained the blueprint for a whole world of intense, beautiful music. The Bang On A Can live recording is wonderful, but breezier by comparison.

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just wanted to check back in after I acquired the Paul Hillier recording of Terry Riley's In C. It is indeed a fantastic recording—one for the ages, I'd say—and posits Riley as a minimalist pioneer too creatively restless to stick to with one musical direction in the same way that Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt or Steve Reich did (and do). Suddenly, I understand why I never really think of Riley as having a sound. Listening to Hillier's treatment, you can imagine Reich seeing the score of In C and instantly realizing that it contained the blueprint for a whole world of intense, beautiful music. The Bang On A Can live recording is wonderful, but breezier by comparison.

There are SO MANY interpretations of the piece! I'm running through the whole thing in it's entirety (playing vibraphone, marimba, timpani and laptop pulse) this afternoon with the UofC New Music Ensemble.

Also, I will be performing the following works in this genre in Calgary next month if there are any locals: (PM me for details.)

Terry Riley: In C
Steve Reich: New York Counterpoint (pre-recorded clarinets by me!)
Steve Reich: Clapping Music
John Cage: In A landscape
Arvo Pärt: Spiegel Im Spiegel (two versions.)

 

[Bryan T]

Whenever I see the thread's title I expect the list to have one piece repeated five times.

1. Music for 18 Musicians
2. Music for 18 Musicians
3. Music for 18 Musicians
4. Music for 18 Musicians
5. Music for 18 Musicians

I don't think that is fair to Reich, as I don't think he considers that piece to be minimal. It is definitely my favorite piece of his. I like/appreciate Glass, Cage, Riley, Young, Pärt, Andriessen, . . ., but "Music for 18 Musicians" takes me places.

I'm not sure if I'd classify him as a minimalist, but don't miss a performance of Branca's "Symphony #13 (Hallucination City)" if there is one near you. It isn't something I'd listen to on a regular basis, but it is an amazing, mind-altering experience to hear/feel it live.

Bryan

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan T /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like/appreciate Glass, Cage, Riley, Young, Pärt, Andriessen, . . ., but "Music for 18 Musicians" takes me places.

Music for 18 Musicians got me into minimalist music over two decades ago (have the ECM LP, which I've always felt is more focused than the later Nonesuch thing), but I cannot tell a lie: This Hillier version of In C is so strong that when I play the two pieces back-to-back I instantly hear the "chicken and egg" thing between Riley and Reich. It's a reminder that Reich played on an early version of In C at Riley's request.

As for Paul Hillier, is it possible he heard something in In C that only Reich knew was there?

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for Paul Hillier, is it possible he heard something in In C that only Reich knew was there?

I think you mean Riley...

I don't know, I'm not sure that the composer even knew of the piece's hidden beauty. I mean, Riley is actually playing Sax on the Live recording, and helped students record the original (which I feel is too fast and distastefully brash and jazzy).

I think that's part of what makes minimalism interesting, it actually gives the musicians and interpreters room to express themselves, instead of becoming drones like in orchestral music. (I am a music performance major... please don't judge this opinion... I deal with "these people" on a daily basis. They are drones.)

 

[Sordel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean.Perrin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you mean Riley...

I read tru blu's comment as saying that Hillier's version of In C sounds like Music for 18 Musicians because both Hillier and Reich hear the same thing in In C, and it's something that other performers have missed or failed to bring out in performance. Of course, it could be that Hillier brings out a resemblance because he's had the opportunity to hear Music for 18 Musicians ... you do tempt me to get this recording of In C, though ...

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sordel /img/forum/go_quote.gif …Hillier's version of In C sounds like Music for 18 Musicians because both Hillier and Reich hear the same thing in In C, and it's something that other performers have missed or failed to bring out in performance. Of course, it could be that Hillier brings out a resemblance because he's had the opportunity to hear Music for 18 Musicians…

Precisely. Chicken or egg? Mother and child reunion?

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Precisely. Chicken or egg? Mother and child reunion?

But In C is by Terry Riley...

 

[Sean.Perrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean.Perrin /img/forum/go_quote.gif But In C is by Terry Riley...

I think I see what you guys are saying now, I just thought that it was being implied that the piece was written by Reich... it's the way it's worded.

 

[tusk]

Which albums of Glass are mostly piano or piano led?

 

[lexnasa]

Just to add some additional contenders, albeit more on the extreme side:
Phill Niblock - Five More String Quartets
Charlemagne Palestine - Strumming Music
Erik Satie - Vexations
Alvin Lucier - I am Sitting in a Room
Alan Morse Davies - Amusement Park Phases
Oh, and the 12th century composer Perotin!