Steve Reich
Steve Reich, born in New York in 1936, is one of the founders of minimalism, though his music has moved well beyond any pure version of it. His early breakthrough was phasing: two tape loops, or two players, starting in unison and slowly drifting apart, as in It's Gonna Rain and Piano Phase. From there he built the pulsing, interlocking ensemble music of Drumming (1971) and the landmark Music for 18 Musicians (1976). His innovations, audible processes, repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons, have shaped contemporary music, especially in America, more than almost anyone's.
Steve Reich, born in New York in 1936, is one of the founders of minimalism, though his music has moved well beyond any pure version of it. His early breakthrough was phasing: two tape loops, or two players, starting in unison and slowly drifting apart, as in It's Gonna Rain and Piano Phase. From there he built the pulsing, interlocking ensemble music of Drumming (1971) and the landmark Music for 18 Musicians (1976). His innovations, audible processes, repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons, have shaped contemporary music, especially in America, more than almost anyone's.
