Product Description

In the mid-1960s, Steve Reich radically renewed the musical landscape with a back-to-basics sound that came to be called Minimalism. These early works, characterized by a relentless pulse and static harmony, focused single-mindedly on the process of gradual rhythmic change. Throughout his career, Reich has continued to reinvigorate the music world, drawing from a wide array of classical, popular, sacred, and non-western idioms. His works reflect the steady evolution of an original musical mind.
Writings on Music documents the creative journey of this thoughtful, groundbreaking composer. These 64 short pieces include Reich's 1968 essay "Music as a Gradual Process," widely considered one of the most influential pieces of music theory in the second half of the 20th century. Subsequent essays, articles, and interviews treat Reich's early work with tape and phase shifting, showing its development into more recent work with speech melody and instrumental music. Other essays recount his exposure to non-western music -- African drumming, Balinese gamelan, Hebrew cantillation -- and the influence of these musics as structures and not as sounds. The writings include Reich's reactions to and appreciations of the works of his contemporaries (John Cage, Luciano Berio, Morton Feldman, Gyorgy Ligeti) and older influences (Kurt Weill, Schoenberg). Each major work of the composer's career is also explored through notes written for performances and recordings.
Paul Hillier, himself a respected figure in the early music and new music worlds, has revisited these texts, working with the author to clarify their central narrative: the aesthetic and intellectual development of an influential composer. For long-time listeners and young musicians recently introduced to his work, this book provides an opportunity to get to know Reich's music in greater depth and perspective.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #591327 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Library Journal
Like many acclaimed artists, composer Reich is a virtual unknown outside of devotees of avant-garde or experimental music (… la John Cage minimalism). This book is a collection of his writings about this specialized area of music, made by and for music academics and "serious" artists. Reading about sounds is always a dry experience, but these 64 short pieces (some only a paragraph) may be essentially indecipherable for those without an academic musical background, owing to the heavy use of music terminology despite Reich's generally conversational tone. The pieces, including Reich's best-known "Music as a Gradual Process," are primarily concerned with Reich's own compositions and reflect his changing preoccupations through time: tape loops and phasing in the Sixties, African drumming in the early Seventies, and so on. In fact, this book might have been better titled Thoughts on Music, as most of the writing comes across as extemporaneous rather than studied and includes a number of interviews, which one is hardpressed to describe as "writings." Recommended for academic libraries or specialized collections only. David Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., Seattle
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Steve Reich has consolidated his reputation as an internationally renowned artist of enormous distinction: this new book is a testament to his integrity and staying power, charting as it does a musical evolution, still in progress, that has permanently altered the course of new music in the West in the last third of the twentieth century."--Music and Letters

About the Author

Steve Reich was recently called "America's greatest living composer by The Village Voice. His most recent work is the digital video/music theater Three Tales (2002) done in collaboration with Beryl Korot. Paul Hiller is a singer, conductor, and writer on music. He performs ith his own early music Theatre of Voices, and with many other ensembles. He currently lives in Denmark.

Customer Reviews

Great Timeline of Reich's Works
This is a must have for Reich enthusiast and student. It chronicles his works and talks about his compositional style. Very interesting.