# Glass, Reich, Riley, Adams: Who do you like, and why?



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

These four composers seem to me to be representative of different facets of what is called "minimalism," much to the chagrin of those involved. Here are my observations.

Philip Glass I see as perhaps the most Romantic of the four, with John Adams running a close second. Studied with Nadia Boulanger, very 'artistic,' writing symphonies and operas now. His early work (Music in Twelve Parts, Dance Nos. 1-5, early solo piano works), had a certain kind of 'purity' and exposed process, which is certainly hard-core minimalist. He now seems to have morphed into more of a Romantic. The world music influence may be there, but it is often hard to see.

Steve Reich, perhaps my favorite, is singular among these four. At first, his music was all process (Drumming, Four Organs, Pendulum Music, Clapping Music); now he seems to have added more 'meat' to the recipe. It's no wonder that he is Pat Metheney's favorite of this ilk; I remember being initially repulsed by the jazz-like chord progressions of Tellehim. Still, it's hard to argue with the lush textures he creates (Music for Mallet Instruments, Vermont Counterpoint).

Terry Riley: a latecomer to the Western party, impeded by his hippie/Eastern aesthetic. Now he's writing string quartets: good for him. His "process" is not preplanned as Reich's or Glass', but is based on improvising in the moment. He is at his best when performing live. Compare his Keyboard Studies to Glass' solo piano works, and the differences are obvious. Riley wants to 'trance you out' in most cases. His piano works do this as well, and are rhapsodic adventures designed to head you in the direction of ego-loss. Not popular with ultra-rationalists and opera buffs.

John Adams is the one I know least about, but I always liked his harder-core 'process' piano pieces China Gates and Phrygian Gates. For something completely different, I am now really enjoying his Doctor Atomic opera, as well as the symphony.

Whom of these four do you like, and why?


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Reich and Adams. I feel Glass is the least talented of the 4. Terry Riley I find completely boring.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Reich is fascinating for 5-10 minutes but it becomes rather monotonous after that. Glass's music reminds me of what I would expect to hear from a young student composer. It sounds rudimentary and uninteresting to my ears. Adams is okay but of the pieces I've heard the music sounds highly derivative of what has become mainstream classical fare over the past 150 years. Riley I have not listened to at all. According to Metheny, Reich gets erroneously lumped in with the minimalist school of which he does not belong.


----------



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

.........................


----------



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Ok, I'm just gonna shoot from the hip without thinking about this ........

Akhnaten is one of my favourite modern operas and last year's Met performance was absolutely fabulous! I am also smitten with Einstein on the Beach. Glass' work since those highpoints is crap. Total crap, IMHO.

*Reich* is the best of the bunch and I rate his music very highly, irrespective of genre.

Poignant was a word invented in advance, and waiting for 'Different Trains' to be written. I find Reich's music completely captivating and for example, look forward to any performance of 'Drumming' or 'Six Pianos' by any of the incredibly talented and committed modern ensembles. I find his later works get more and more interesting. 

Adams bores me to tears, save for 'Shaker Loops'. I think Adams is probably a nice chap.

'In C' is not _quite_ as seminal as "4.33", but ................

I do not intend to offend anyone with this post :lol:


----------



## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

millionrainbows said:


> These four composers [Glass, Reich, Riley, Adams]seem to me to be representative of different facets of what is called "minimalism,"...
> Whom of these four do you like, and why?


I like a lot of works by Philip Glass: "The Photographer", "Days and Nights in Ricinha" (sort of a Brazilian "Bolero"), the Violin Concerto, and Dance #8 from "The Upper Room" are all good. I find Glass' "Akhnaten" at least as entertaining as Verdi's equally Egyptian (and equally long, long, long) opera, "Aida". What I really have come to like a lot, though, is Adam's "Nixon in China".

[video]https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=i+am+the+wife+of+chairman+mao +[/video]


----------



## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

#1 - Adams
#2 - Reich
#3 & 4 - The other guys


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I like all four though I don't know Adams or Glass as much. Trying to get into both of them. Reich I have loved since high school, well before I got into "classical music" more generally speaking. I like your characterizations, OP, that's fairly close to how I see it.


----------



## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Glass and Reich are both "top 10" composers for me.

Glass was the first I heard, about 30 years ago: Glassworks, Koyaanisqatsi, Akhnaten and Satyagraha were my introduction. When he started to become a symphonies-and-concertos sort of composer I was skeptical, as I didn't think his style suited the form. For various reasons (not related to the music) I didn't pay any attention to his work for many years, but when I returned to it I found a lot I really liked - the 9th symphony in particular. The works from the late 70s through to late 80s are still my favourites, but my skepticism has disappeared - he's carved out his own distinct niche.

I came to Reich a few years after Glass, and was less impressed, aside from a few works like Different Trains. Again like Glass, I sort of drifted away from Reich for a while, but was quickly brought back when I finally heard Music for 18 Musicians. That opened me up to Reich's sound world and from then on I was a lot more receptive. Piano Phase has become a particular favourite.

I have slightly mixed feelings about Adams. Maybe it could be summed up as the further he gets from minimalism, the less enthusiastic I am. But there's plenty of his music I enjoy.

Somehow I've never managed to engage with Riley's music, aside from In C, which I love.


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Nereffid said:


> Glass and Reich are both "top 10" composers for me.
> 
> Glass was the first I heard, about 30 years ago: Glassworks, Koyaanisqatsi, Akhnaten and Satyagraha were my introduction. When he started to become a symphonies-and-concertos sort of composer I was skeptical, as I didn't think his style suited the form. For various reasons (not related to the music) I didn't pay any attention to his work for many years, but when I returned to it I found a lot I really liked - the 9th symphony in particular. The works from the late 70s through to late 80s are still my favourites, but my skepticism has disappeared - he's carved out his own distinct niche.


I agree, and I had sort of "left" Glass for a while, then started picking up some of his symphonies in the used bins, and was very pleasantly surprised. I like his large scale works.



> Somehow I've never managed to engage with Riley's music, aside from In C, which I love.


If you get the chance, get the remaster of "In C" with the "Carnegie Hall Presents" red stripe on it. It's like night & day, the most dramatic remaster I have ever heard.


----------



## erki (Feb 17, 2020)

For me - no difference. I have listened Adams and Riley a bit less, but that does not help to make any meaningful list at all. Also I like equally many other minimalists.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I appreciate all four, and have a decent amount of CDs of all four, even though none of them came close to my top30 composers list I prepared half a year ago. Reich is for me the best of the quartet, and he also has the best composition of them (Different trains). Glass and Adams are joined second, Riley last. All of them have ups and downs for me, as do most composers.


----------



## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

I like Reich a lot and have listened to his music early on. I watched the Reich ensemble play Drumming live with a modern ballet company. I have a few separate CD's and his CD-box 'works'. I think it might be difficult for another ensemble to play his music, because of the rather typical instrumentation and the required level of anticipation. Of these four, Reich is my #1. He is also up there in my favourite composers list. Why (the subjective part)? I think there is a hypnotic effect in his music Rhythm is absolutely crucial to recognize the subtle changes. There are not a lot of dynamic changes. Reich is likely the most subtle composer who by choice limits his expression to a minimum, without loosing focus. 

I got to know John Adams music not too long ago. I listened online and recently purchased the 'John Adams edition' by the Berliner Philharmoniker. I like City Noir a lot and Harmonielehre. I also like Adams' political engagement in a piece like the Wound-dresser. I want to learn more about his operas. To me, Adams is the #2 in this group. But in my ears, Adams is in a different league from the minimalism of Reich and Glass. 

I don't like Philip Glass, his music just doesn't grab my attention, yet is seems instantly recognizable. Glass was certainly 'en vogue' for a while, which probably make shim the most successful of these 4. 

I know nothing of Terry Riley.


----------



## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Reich is my favorite. _Music for 18 Musicians_ is one of my favorite pieces but I like almost everything he's done up until the last 15 years or so when it starts to get a little more hit or miss for me.

Then Riley, although I don't know as much as I should - _In C_, _Rainbow in Curved Air_, _Keyboard Study #1_, and his stuff for the Kronos Quartet.

Then early- to mid-career Glass, but not the super long, ultra-minimalist early stuff. I don't think I like anything of his after _The Photographer._

I don't know Adams well at all - _Shaker Loops_ and _The Dharma at Big Sur_ are both nice, but mostly I've found his music boring.


----------



## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

John Adams is my favorite of the four by a lot. I don't see how someone who otherwise likes Classical music can listen to his Violin Concerto, _Naïve and Sentimental Music_, the "Dr. Atomic" Symphony, _El Dorado_, or even _Harmonielehre_, and find any of it "boring." Sometimes this forum is really weird!

I am intermittently interested in Reich. I met him when his ensemble was on tour and he gave lectures at a nearby university. I still like the Sextet very much.


----------



## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

I'll readily admit Adams is a personal blind spot of mine. Not sure why.


----------



## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

I don't know anything about Riley, but to echo or paraphrase another commenter the others are interesting for a few minutes and that's about it.


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I am not too keen on Adams and might even dislike Glass. I do quite like Reich and take him seriously. I also quite like Terry Riley - this CD (Riley's Requiem for Adam) is excellent:


----------



## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

I like all the composers mentioned, though I don't listen to Riley much. Reich is the most respected, and I can see why. However, I listen to Glass the most, by far.


----------



## MrMeatScience (Feb 15, 2015)

Glass is one of the few popular composers I have almost no time for, outside of _Einstein_ and a small smattering of other music from the same period of his output. To his credit, though, he is self-aware. An old professor of mine sat in on a composition masterclass with him, and at the end somebody asked if there was anything he was still in the process of composing that he could demo for them on the piano. Glass hesitated for a moment, and said "well, there is one thing that I've been working on lately..." and walked over to the keyboard, sat down, and played a looping minor arpeggio. I wasn't there but that prof never gave me any reason to doubt him! 

Very keen on Reich -- hands down my favorite of the minimalists. I prefer the early music, roughly 1964-1980 although I like what came later too. I keep an eye out for premieres and try to stay abreast of his new works.

Adams was on fire for a while, but nothing he's written in the last 15 or so years (after _Doctor Atomic_) does anything for me at all. As far as my taste is concerned, his best days are behind him. Haven't heard the new piano concerto though, is it any good?

I met Terry Riley once and had the opportunity to talk to him for a while -- he's a very nice man. I know some but not much of his music outside of the stuff everyone knows (In C, Rainbow in Curved Air), but I'd like to hear more. I wouldn't say it's really my cup of tea, though -- it's right on the edge of what I'm personally willing to call "classical music" (without opening that can of worms), which is interesting in itself but also means it's on the fringes of my tastes.

I find it interesting that La Monte Young comes up so infrequently in these conversations. Is that because of the comparative scarcity of recordings?


----------



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Can’t say I know Riley’s music much, but as for the others:

I liked Glass about 30 years ago when I was in high school. His music is accessible, and attempts (and sometimes succeeds) in being profound. Nowadays I don’t listen to him much. The music is too static for my taste now.

Riley. I have more respect for him as a composer than I do for Glass, but I have a tough time explaining why. I have to admit that I seldom listen to his music.

Adams is 1/2 minimalist and 1/2 “regular” composer. There is more melodic development and less static repetition than with the others. His output is variable ranging from masterpieces like Nixon and Harmonielehre to works that seem like anomalies like his violin concerto (to me, an unsuccessful work that never quite finds itself in its attempts at sounding contemporary).

Most of his stuff of the last 20 years seems less inspired than his earlier stuff but he still remains one of my favorite contemporary composers.

Another minimalist-blending composer would be Louis Andriessen.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I think I enjoy Adams most in his less monumental works like Gnarly Buttons and this one:


----------



## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

I don't agree that Adams isn't still an excellent composer. _City Noir_ is very cool, and the Saxophone Concerto is the best ever written for that instrument...

...ok, that sounds like damning with faint praise. But I don't mean it that way; it's an excellent composition.

I wanted to dislike Scheherzade.2, because I found the concept suspect and the title stupid. But heck if that isn't a terrific piece! Of course I think his Violin Concerto is one of his best pieces, so, YMMV.


----------



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I’m glad to hear that, Knorf, and maybe I need to not expect him to be the same composer that he was pre y2k. I will not try to keep him in his old setting but will allow him to be a new composer, if that makes any sense.

After all, imagine someone expecting late career Stravinsky to be composing like early career Stravinsky. Of course they would be disappointed, UNLESS they viewed him as essentially a new composer!


----------

