Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass

Music in the Twentieth Century

by Keith Potter

This book offers the most detailed account so far of the early works of these four minimalist composers, putting extensive discussion of the music into a biographical perspective. The true musical minimalism of the 1960s and early 1970s is placed in the wider context of their music as a whole, and considered within the cultural conditions of the period, which saw not only the rise of minimalism in the fine arts but also crucial changes in the theory and practice of musical composition in the Western cultivated tradition.

Genres: Music, Biography

408 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2000

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most exciting book to read (due to my non-academic practices) but very much an essential book on the composers Le Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass - the so called Minimalists. The beauty of the book is that the author Keith Potter pretty much focuses on the early works of these composers - which were minimal in nature. The thing is I feel minimalist music is really a huge canvas, and I'm hearing a lot of things in that context. For me, the most interesting chapters are on Young and Riley, because I know very little of their music - and even today, it is hard to find Young's music via the Internet. There are places, but nothing compared to Reich and Glass, who are everywhere. Riley I was surprised to hear his early music. Via ITunes, I downloaded some of his very early music - and i love it. Especially the music he made with Chet Baker. The technique is very much like the works of Brian Eno, in the context of Roxy Music or the albums he made with Robert Fripp. Riley was there first, and the music he made in the early 60's are as refreshing to the ear, as if experiencing the first days of summer after a cold spring. Riley had a recording deal with Columbia Records, so his music in the late 70's were known, but not the early works.

So, yeah, this book made me spend some great hours digging for the music from these exceptional 20th century composers. Excellent for reference, and each composer gets a good biography sketch. It is academic orientated, but that is what it is - still readable for the nerd (me) fan.

[Martin Furan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a very easy book to read. But if I had a high degree in music theory maybe it would be, but since I don't I'm not fit to review this as a text book which it definitely is. I enjoyed the biographical parts and some of the compositional analysis, but most of the latter went way over my head (at times I could see something vague up there but most of the time it was too cloudy to see anything!!)

[Solrac Sedecrem · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most musicologically detailed survey of its subject. Not a page-turner but a serious contribution to scholarship.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

While originally purchased as a textbook, several of the historical accounts were quite insightful. In the end, however, it still remains a textbook.