We have written very little about minimalist music on this blog and I did not even know what the definition of minimalist music was really. So I was looking for some information about it and I think this is a fairly good definition:
Music created with limited resources, the same notes and sound sequences repeated over and over again but end up creating a structure.
On the other hand, I found that one of the most important figures of minimalist music is Philip Glass. He has not been the pionner of the style but is considered the most influential musican of it. He is a prolific composer who has also written operas, musical theatre works, solo works and film scores, for example.
I would like to start by recommending the Piano Solo album, from which the song Metamorphosis Two was featured on, performed by Branka Parlic, because the feeling of the entire album has caught me from the first moment I listened to it.
I hope you like it and I will appreciate your comments about it and suggestions for future posts about minimalist music.
He, nick cave and warren ellis should meet. I did not want it to end!
thanks! the info about minimal music is new for me….
Steve Reich is also an amazing artist that is also quit often associated with minimalist music.
It’s new for me too, the only minimalistic music I’ve heard about was a disco music made with little sounds but I didn’t like it very much. Instead this is something that has a sense and I appreciated the song in the video. I’d like to hear more about it, indeed.
I think there are better examples for minimal music, than this piece. If you want I can blog a bit about music here.
Thank you for your comments! I’ll look for more information about this! :)
I think the best example in contemporary minimalistic music is Ryoji Ikeda,
who is at the boarder of music and experience of sound. The visualisation is very beautiful and minimalistic, exactlyy like a sound~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXAevrYhicI
he also do conceptual minimal projects >
Glass had a significant impact on my life. At an impressionable age, I discovered this “complexity in simplicity” minimalism and absorbed it like a sponge.
Key works: “Einstein on the Beach”, “Koyaanisqatsi”, “Solo Piano”.
I do find his later works…monotnous…good but too similar. Early & mid works are a joy.
Likewise, Steve Reich is influential. “Desert Music”, “Drumming”, “Music for 18 Musicians”. Good stuff.
Thank you for introducing us to minimal music, Jorge. Listening to Steve Reich’s music for the first time. I have been exposed to Philip Glass’ music. “Einstein on the Beach” is often played in runway soundtracks. Wonder if this music was used as the building blocks for electro and techno music. I would love to learn more.
Thanks again for your new comments and ideas! I am sure I will enjoy this new minimalist topic!
Philip Glass is very very good. I love how the repetitive structure of his music changes subtly throughout to weave a complex tapestry of sound.
Other minimalist musicians to check out include Lizzy Mercier Descloux, John Cage, Aphex Twin, Laurie Anderson (O Superman), and Jonny Greenwood.
Jorge, you also have the 4’33″ composition by American experimental composer John Cage (1912-1992). It was composed in 1952 for any instrument, and the score instructs the performer not to play during the entire duration of the piece. So it is 4’33″ of silence. And the debate, to fully understand and explore minimalism, you need to test the extreme.