Steve Reich at 80 - 10 of the best

Whaddya know, a couple of days ago I was thinking about what would be the essential Reich pieces, and I came up with exactly the first 5 items on that list - plus grudging inclusion of Different Trains, though it sounds to me like a major falling off from the magic of Music for 18 Musicians and Tehillim, because as Richard Strauss and Chuck Berry said, you never can tell.

Hmmm. Looks like Terry Riley and La Monte Young got articles, though not playlists, for their 80th anniversaries last year (though not on their birthdays, and only Riley's explicitly mentions the occasion at all):

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/02/terry-riley-interview-brooklyn-national-sawdust-concerts
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/30/la-monte-young-dia-chelsea-exhibit


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Oh, but f--- that live performance nonsense they're linking to for Music for 18 Musicians. Nobody should listen to any other recording of that piece before they've heard the original so often that they've got it memorized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5U9577N-dQ


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Cheers. Bookmarked for later!


You're my wife now.

I listened to the first five earlier today, not having heard them before.

Didn't like the first two much, but enjoyed Drumming and Tellihim and Music for 18 Musicians was really impressive.


You're my wife now.

and Music for 18 Musicians was really impressive.
Yup that one's definitely the magnum opus.


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Hello, gerrypmar. I may be wrong, but I believe Come Out was probably omitted due to its stylistic similarity with the preceding It’s Gonna Rain. Why do you consider it one of your favorites?

Thank you for the explanation! And don’t worry, I don’t think you should bow to anyone’s expertise, most of all concerning your own taste. I actually like the piece too, but I was just curious about the reasons why you liked it more than you liked the others. Thanks to your post, I can now better understand your appreciation. Personally, I prefer the previous piece, both for its precedence and for my subjective predilection for its source in its given context. One thing I like about Come Out, however, is the fact that Reich used a record from the Harlem riot. I also agree the lower pitch in its original tape would probably sound more pleasant to many, although, given the setting, I actually think the higher pitch in It’s Gonna Rain works well.