This study explores the minimalist style of music. It details its beginnings in the music of Terry Riley and La Monte Young, focuses on its major exponents, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, and reviews its broader influences both in the USA, with the work of John Adams and Meredith Monk, and in Europe, with the work of Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen and Arvo Part. Musical discussion is contextualized within the lives and development of each major artist. This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in the series features a list of works, a bibliography, and a discography.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
"Many do not consider minimalism to be an entirely respectable field of academic pursuit," admits author K. Robert Schwartz in his "Acknowledgments" in The Minimalists, a volume in the Phaidon Press Limited 20th Century Composers series. Minimalism, with its emphasis on seemingly endless repetition, can be physically damaging to those who attempt to perform it either vocally or instrumentally, and is terminally boring to those unable to tune into its subtle charms. On the other hand, it's tremendously popular, and has won new audiences to the concert hall and opera house. Schwartz explores the lives and work of America's two leading minimalists, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, in depth, and looks at seven other practitioners--La Monte Young, Terry Riley, John Adams, Meredith Monk, Michael Nyman, Louis Andriessen, and Arvo Part--more lightly. There are some amusing side trips here (Philip Glass refuses to acknowledge any intellectual debts to his predecessors; his predecessors object to his attitude), and a wealth of detail on these composers, their foibles, and what they're trying to achieve with their music.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Minimalism revealed with enthusiasm,
By Jari Kallio (Parikkala, Finland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Minimalists (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)
K. Robert Schwartz's book is very professinoal job. It reveales the genesis of minimalism and follows the traces of it's most important advocates to this day. Mr Schwartz is obviously an enthusiast but uses also crtical tone of voice when necassery. After reading this book one is well aware of the most important minimalists and their body of work - except some european predicessors (Names of György Ligeti and Erik Satie spring readily to mind). Minimalists is an important addition to new music litterature addressed to a wider audience. Mr Schwartz does not spend much time in analyzing scores in detail, but rather expresses in common sense the basic ideas and directions of minimal compositions. Mr Schwartz also lets the composers (Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, John Adams etc) speak and clear out their ideas and introduces very interesting biographical material without ever trying to create empty scandals. This is a book very much in need. Hopefully it will lead to more writings on the growing list of minimalist composers in the not-too-distant future. (eg. 50' and 60' generations of composers). Very Good
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Introduction to Minimalism,
This review is from: Minimalists (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)
This is a fine introduction to minimalism and its biggest names. Accessible and full of photographs it provides biographical information for Young, Riley, Reich, Glass and Adams. Touches on a few others, but concentrates on the founding composers.
An update that includes some of the more current names working in the form would be helpful.
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