jgbritt@dasys1.UUCP (James G Britt) (09/11/89)
ome time ago, I posted a request for
the names and pieces of Minimalist
composers. Here are the results of my
quest. First, two response and their
critique of who and what. Then, names
and stuff I dug up from other sources.
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In-Reply-To: <10478@dasys1.UUCP>
David Borden. He works mostly with keyboard instruments, mostly electronic.
I'd particularly recommend at least taking a listen to almost any part of
"The Continuing Story of Counterpoint."
Dan Riley (riley@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu, cornell!batcomputer!riley)
-Wilson Lab, Cornell U.
1. LaMonte Young - try and find a recording of his
"The Well Tempered Piano" (I believe this is the correct title).
It is on the Gramavision label and so it may not be readily
available in your area (although I don't know where your area
is; I know that the recording is not readily available in my
area (Atlanta)). Also, this work is a five LP set or a five CD
set, so either way it's going to be expensive. With any luck
you can chance across it in a second hand record store. Young
is one of the earlier "minimalist" figures, dating back to a
time before it was called minimalism. Although Young follows
a standard "plan" when performing the work, he does improvise
and he allows his mood to guide his playing. The end result
is that the recording you would buy is just one possible
performance of the work. (Curiously enough because of this,
many record stores don't know whether to classify Young as
classical or jazz, so if you look for this work check
each section in your record store.) For further reference,
Young was interviewed in Fanfare magazine within the last year.
2. Avro Part - Part is the only minimalist composer that I listen
to with any sort of regularity. One modern music critic has
described Part as "... like Glass but with less repetition."
Where alot of Glass' music is dynamic and rhythmic (assaulting
is the word that comes to mind), Avro Part's is gentler, and
generally darker. There is an intellectual element in Part's
music that Glass misses entirely. The majority of his
recordings are on ECM, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, so the
recordings should not extremely difficult to find. Look for
an album entitled Tabula Rasa and start there.
3. John Adams - An American contemporary of Glass and Reich.
There is a recording on the Nonesuch label of his Harmonielehre,
and a another recording of his opera "Nixon in China." I
am not familiar with the opera but the Harmonielehre is an
attractive orchestral work.
4. Per Norgard - If anyone on newsnet mentions this name I'll be
generally impressed. Norgard is not minimalist, but his
second symphony uses technique which the composer calls
"Infinite Series" to produce an effect which is not entirely
unlike the patterns of sound that one associates with the
minimali&Jk, M,mtbCte the symphony in the fifties,
long before the term minimalism was ever used, and Norgard's
"infinite series" are not a significant portion of his output.
There does exist a recording of this, but its on the Point
label (a Scandanavian import) and it may prove difficult to
find.
5. Steve Reich - Have you heard the Desert Music?
6. You mentioned the name Reilly in your request. I don't know
that name but I do know of Terry Riley who is an early
minimalist like Young. There are a number of CBS recordings
of his music available. I don't consider him particulary
interesting so I won't make a recomendation.
Bill Crane
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My findings:
Bela Farago/Group 180: Farago is a composer, and a member of Group 180, who
perform his works, along with the likes
of Steve Reich. Listen to "Death of the Spider", from "Group 180 Vol II". It
sounds *just like* "Music for 18 Musicians"! Which I like. :->
Wym Merten: Started out as a writer on
minimalism, but started composing in the mid '70s. Album: "Whisper Me".
Hans Otta (sp?): "Book of Sounds", a 12
part piece. What I've heard is quite
pretty.
Michael Nyman: Another writer-turned-
composer. Try his soundtrack album,
"The Draughtsman's Contract".
Piero Milesi (sp?): Another soundtrack,
"The Nuclear Observatory of Mr. Nanoff".
Ramon Farran: Ballet score, "Elements".
Well, that's that. I hope others find this usefull.
James
q
--
James G Britt
Big Electric Cat Public UNIX
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