★Nonesuch
Hive 1
It’s no secret that former Battles member Tyondai Braxton is one of the most talented musicians around today, but as displayed on the bloated and indulgent Central Market that isn’t always beneficial. Thank goodness his new collection HIVE1 is so clinical, near utilitarian in its approach. Using his highly acclaimed ensemble performances from the past 12 months as a starting point HIVE1 has the impression of a variety of ideas conversing, heading into impossible tangents only to agree with each …
Music For 18 Musicians
Nonesuch re-issued Steve Reich's landmark Music for 18 Musicians, performed by Steve Reich and Musicians, on two 180-gram vinyl LPs for Record Store Day. The album is packaged in a vintage-style double pocket gatefold jacket with poly sleeves, each limited-edition record has been individually numbered.
At the close of the 1970s, the New York Times declared Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians one of the ten most important works of that decade. But the passage of time has proven that inaccur…
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
When the David Byrne / Brian Eno collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was first released in 1981, Rolling Stone called it “an undeniably awesome feat of tape editing and rhythmic ingenuity.” It was widely considered a watershed record for future genres from world music to electronica, and almost 25 years later, the influence of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is evident in music ranging from The Bomb Squad’s productions for Public Enemy to Moby, Kruder and Dorfmeister, and Goldie. Nonesuch …
Works, 1965-1995
Massive and essential! This box set gives the listener all of Reich's major works. I can't even attempt to describe them individually, but every one of these 10 CDs is compelling. For the totally uninitiated, take out "Music for 18 Musicians" (presented here in a crystalline new recording) to get an idea of what the core of this guy is all about. From there, you might want to listen to "Different Trains," "Electric Counterpoint" and "Six Marimbas" to get an idea of the pointillistic pulse minima…
The Nonesuch Guide To Electronic Music
Long out of print, this is the 'legendary' original box: "A "Guide to Electronic Music" might be many things. This one, though perhaps useful, is hardly the "comprehensive survey of electronic music and its creation" promised in the notes on the back of the box. The four sides, averaging twelve minutes' playing-time each, offer several dozen samples of electronically produced sounds, and a three-minute piece (given twice). The score of the latter is included among the notes along with an account…
A Nonesuch Retrospective
Philip Glass is one of America's best-known living composers, with a career that spans more than four decades and includes chamber music, symphonies, operas, concerti, film scores, and music for dance. On September 30, Nonesuch Records, which has had a relationship with the composer for more than 20 years, releases Glass Box—a 10-disc retrospective of compositions from his groundbreaking career. Excerpts from Glass’s largest and best-known works, like his operas Einstein on the Beach and Satyagr…
Computer Music
Works by three composers ("Quartets in Pairs / Quartersines / Mudget: Monologues By A Mass Murderer" by J.K. Randall, "Synthesism" by Barry Vercoe, "Changes" by Charles Dodge) realized in the computer centers of Columbia and Princeton Universities. Only one copy available.
The Desert Music
The Desert Music is a work of music for voices and orchestra composed by Steve Reich based on texts by William Carlos Williams. It consists of five movements, and in both its tempi and arrangement of thematic material, the piece is in a characteristic arch form (ABCBA). The piece is scored for a chorus of 27 voices: nine sopranos, and six each of altos, tenors and basses. It calls for a woodwind section comprising four flutes with three doubling on piccolo, four oboes with three doubling on cor …