Steve Reich (b. 1936)

[arpeggio]

I am normally not a fan of Reich but I just heard a recording of his Desert Music and for some reason I connected with this work.

Have any of you performed his music.  Because of its competitive nature it may be interesting to listen to but boring to play.

[milk]

I've really been mesmerized by this lately. I don't know much about Hall but he recorded this in his house. He uses electric guitar, piano and moog. It's said he used room mics in the process. In a way, it's very organic sounding as the timbre of the elements seem to blend in an unusual and unusually seamless way.

[Mandryka]

This is the one I enjoyed -- it's on spotify and it's amazing.

[milk]

This is the one I enjoyed -- it's on spotify and it's amazing.

I'll check it out. I don't listen to this kind of music so much but my 3-year old thinks it sounds like trains and wants to hear it at night. Try the one above though for something different. 

[bhodges]

I've really been mesmerized by this lately. I don't know much about Hall but he recorded this in his house. He uses electric guitar, piano and moog. It's said he used room mics in the process. In a way, it's very organic sounding as the timbre of the elements seem to blend in an unusual and unusually seamless way.

Thanks so much for posting this! I'm in the camp of those who think Music for 18 Musicians is one of Reich's greatest, if not THE greatest, and another recording is good news. The back story -- Hall recording all the parts in his home -- is fascinating.

--Bruce

[milk]

Thanks so much for posting this! I'm in the camp of those who think Music for 18 Musicians is one of Reich's greatest, if not THE greatest, and another recording is good news. The back story -- Hall recording all the parts in his home -- is fascinating.

--Bruce

You're welcome. It's a great piece of art and I like to hear it with a totally different texture. I think it completely works but I'm wondering what others think.

[Mandryka]

I think it completely works but I'm wondering what others think.

I don't think it's very good. It isn't surprising enough -- the rhythms and the timbres and the structure are too familiar, too much like music I already know, to make me want to really engage with it. For this very reason I think Reich's earlier music is much better -- Pendulum Music, It's Gonna Rain . . .

[milk]

I don't think it's very good. It isn't surprising enough -- the rhythms and the timbres and the structure are too familiar, too much like music I already know, to make me want to really engage with it. For this very reason I think Reich's earlier music is much better -- Pendulum Music, It's Gonna Rain . . .

I see what you mean. I think sometimes I'm just too tired these days. This recording pleased me because it's so soft and squishy. But it's not a big challenge right now. I do think the timbres are beautifully conceived. Maybe they sound easier than they should. Or, on the other hand, maybe it's a slight of hand to make them so easy. I do know from the standard percussion ensemble recordings that hearing the musicianship gives a different kind of appreciation because in this one I linked, you're not getting that exactly.

Perhaps I'll listen to something different today. Maybe Different Trains. I went to a live performance of Different Trains at the Hankyu train museum exhibition a few years back and it was bizarrely incongruous.
ETA: re Different Trains: scratch that. That's only possible live.

[Mandryka]

Perhaps I'll listen to something different today. Maybe Different Trains. I went to a live performance of Different Trains at the Hankyu train museum exhibition a few years back and it was bizarrely incongruous.
ETA: re Different Trains: scratch that. That's only possible live.

How about WTC 9/11?

[milk]

How about WTC 9/11?

that certainly looks like an interesting premise. I'll have a listen. Kronos seem to be a busy outfit.

[Mandryka]

What do the Reichians think of The Cave?

(I'll just say that I can imagine it's a completely different experience in the theatre, with the videos, and maybe home listening on audio only, is just not a good idea.)

[Mandryka]

that certainly looks like an interesting premise. I'll have a listen. Kronos seem to be a busy outfit.

The other later piece which seems to me to stand out is The Daniel Variations.

[milk]

The other later piece which seems to me to stand out is The Daniel Variations.

I don't know that stuff. Is Reich rather nerdy music? That's what a friend of mine said. And "too cerebral." I confess I don't listen to it often but I do like it from time to time.

[Mandryka]

I don't know that stuff. Is Reich rather nerdy music? That's what a friend of mine said. And "too cerebral." I confess I don't listen to it often but I do like it from time to time.

It is fundamentally anti intellectual music.

[Mandryka]

The quartet here is quite complex music, and rather unpredictable. WTF? It's like Steve Reich meets James Tenney!

[Mandryka]

The other later piece which seems to me to stand out is The Daniel Variations.

And City Life

https://www.youtube.com/v/dMcz4jhDWMI&ab_channel=AuroraRosas

[milk]

It is fundamentally anti intellectual music.

someone could see 18 as a system of patterns.

[71 dB]

I don't know what to think about Steve Reich. I find his music interesting and boring at the same time. A common dilemma with minimalism I guess.

[Mandryka]

I don't know what to think about Steve Reich. I find his music interesting and boring at the same time. A common dilemma with minimalism I guess.

I find some of his music interesting and some of his music boring.

[milk]

How about WTC 9/11?

This is a great work of art.