L’art du trompe-l’oreille rythmique

One of the most striking features in the music of the British composer Michael Nyman (born 1944) is the emphatic presence of musical quotations. This may be all the more remarkable because the main influence on Nyman's compositional style is minimal music. Generally, American minimal music is characterized by a large degree of abstraction, focussing on absolute music, clear abstract structures and the gradual unfolding of systematic musical processes. The almost provocatively objective appearance of the titles of works by Steve Reich (Violin Phase, Four Organs, Music for 18 Musicians) may be seen as emblematic for a music in which the transparent, process-like transformation of limited musical material calls for an equally objective type of material. Although American minimalists such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Philip Glass take recourse to diatonic material and tonal or modal harmonies, any reference to specific historical models is almost unconceivable in their early work, as the associations that come with the quoted material would only distract the listener from the systematic processes that the material is being subjected to, which forms the essence of this style. In that respect, Michael Nyman's fusion of minimalist strictness with openly acknowledged borrowings of pre-existing music sets him apart from his American contemporaries. This article investigates how Nyman applies different aspects of his quotation technique, how he incorporates the musical and extra-musical characteristics and associations that come with the quoted material into a solid musical statement, and how all this is combined with the strictness of his minimalism-related composition technique.

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QUOTATION AS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT IN MUSIC BY MICHAEL NYMAN

Tempo ◽

10.1017/s0040298207000289 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 61 (242) ◽

pp. 25-38

Author(s):

Maarten Beirens

Keyword(s):

Large Degree ◽

Compositional Style ◽

Structural Element ◽

Steve Reich ◽

Philip Glass ◽

Absolute Music ◽

Musical Characteristics ◽

Minimal Music ◽

Terry Riley ◽

Main Influence

One of the most striking features in the music of the British composer Michael Nyman (born 1944) is the emphatic presence of musical quotations. This may be all the more remarkable because the main influence on Nyman's compositional style is minimal music. Generally, American minimal music is characterized by a large degree of abstraction, focussing on absolute music, clear abstract structures and the gradual unfolding of systematic musical processes. The almost provocatively objective appearance of the titles of works by Steve Reich (Violin Phase, Four Organs, Music for 18 Musicians) may be seen as emblematic for a music in which the transparent, process-like transformation of limited musical material calls for an equally objective type of material. Although American minimalists such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Philip Glass take recourse to diatonic material and tonal or modal harmonies, any reference to specific historical models is almost unconceivable in their early work, as the associations that come with the quoted material would only distract the listener from the systematic processes that the material is being subjected to, which forms the essence of this style. In that respect, Michael Nyman's fusion of minimalist strictness with openly acknowledged borrowings of pre-existing music sets him apart from his American contemporaries. This article investigates how Nyman applies different aspects of his quotation technique, how he incorporates the musical and extra-musical characteristics and associations that come with the quoted material into a solid musical statement, and how all this is combined with the strictness of his minimalism-related composition technique.

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From Cage to Glass: Lessons for the Late Twentieth Century

British Journal of Music Education ◽

10.1017/s0265051700007488 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 15-24

Author(s):

Patricia Shehan Campbell

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Art Music ◽

Pop Music ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Steve Reich ◽

Historical View ◽

School Music ◽

Late Twentieth ◽

Terry Riley ◽

Late Twentieth Century

Because art music of the late twentieth century has received little attention in North American school music settings, this paper proposes a rationale as well as procedures for the teaching of one of its emerging styles: minimalism. A brief historical view of the development of minimalism is offered, the influence of Cage's concepts of music as an ongoing [if indeterminate] process is recognised, and the relationship of minimalism to other musical sytles and genres is noted. Listening lessons for works by composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass are devised, along with suggestions for performance and composition experiences in the music classroom. Due to its eclectic nature, including the influence of rock and pop music, instruction in the music of the minimalist composers is viewed as a gateway to other art music styles and techniques of the late twentieth century.

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Tendances de la musique contemporaine aux États-Unis. Steve Reich – Terry Riley – Harry Partch

Écrits sur la musique et les musiciens ◽

10.4000/books.contrechamps.311 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 325-339

Author(s):

György Ligeti

Keyword(s):

Steve Reich ◽

Terry Riley

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“Fun, Yes, but Music?” Steve Reich and the San Francisco Bay Area's Cultural Nexus, 1962–65

Journal of the Society for American Music ◽

10.1017/s175219631200020x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 315-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

ROSS COLE

Keyword(s):

San Francisco ◽

San Francisco Bay ◽

Luciano Berio ◽

Third Stream ◽

Steve Reich ◽

Stylistic Development ◽

Contextual Framework ◽

History Of ◽

Terry Riley ◽

Source Materials

AbstractThis article traces Steve Reich through the Bay Area's cultural nexus during the period 1962–65, exploring intersections with Luciano Berio, Phil Lesh, Terry Riley, Robert Nelson, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. The aim is to present a revised history of this era by drawing on personal interviews with Tom Constanten, R. G. Davis, Jon Gibson, Saul Landau, Pauline Oliveros, and Ramon Sender. In addition, previously unused source materials and contemporaneous newspaper reception are employed to provide a more nuanced contextual framework. Reich's heterogeneous activities—ranging from “third stream” music and multimedia happenings to incidental scores and tape collage—deserve investigation on their own terms, rather than from within narratives concerned with the stylistic development of “minimalism.” More appropriate and viable aesthetic parallels are drawn between Reich's work for tape and Californian Funk art.

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The Challenge of African Art Music

Circuit Musiques contemporaines ◽

10.7202/1005272ar ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 49-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kofi Agawu

Keyword(s):

Piano Music ◽

Traditional Music ◽

Art Music ◽

African Art ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Steve Reich ◽

Oxford University ◽

Creative Achievement ◽

Gyorgy Ligeti ◽

Musical Knowledge

This essay offers broad reflection on some of the challenges faced by African composers of art music. The specific point of departure is the publication of a new anthology, Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, edited by Ghanaian pianist and scholar William Chapman Nyaho and published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. The anthology exemplifies a diverse range of creative achievement in a genre that is less often associated with Africa than urban ‘popular’ music or ‘traditional’ music of pre-colonial origins. Noting the virtues of musical knowledge gained through individual composition rather than ethnography, the article first comments on the significance of the encounters of Steve Reich and György Ligeti with various African repertories. Then, turning directly to selected pieces from the anthology, attention is given to the multiple heritage of the African composer and how this affects his or her choices of pitch, rhythm and phrase structure. Excerpts from works by Nketia, Uzoigwe, Euba, Labi and Osman serve as illustration.

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