2 ms·

I am not a huge fan of so-called minimalist music, though among its prominent composers, Mr. Reich is the one who appeals to me most, and I think his skills hav

I am not a huge fan of so-called minimalist music, though among its prominent composers, Mr. Reich is the one who appeals to me most, and I think his skills have developed considerably since this early work. The boorish, self-centered behavior of certain audience members would have made it very difficult to appreciate anything of the work at its premiere. Unfortunately, this is increasingly so even for public performances of works firmly in the classical canon.

eadmund 9y ago
> The boorish, self-centered behavior of certain audience members would have made it very difficult to appreciate anything of the work at its premiere. Is it the audiences or the composers & performers who are boorish & self-centred? This quote from the article is a bit revealing: ‘For sure, by tomorrow, everyone in the world is going to know about you and your music.’ Good music isn’t about being known; it’s about good music. No doubt someone could release 40 minutes of flatulence and get everyone talking about it — but that wouldn’t make it good music. When audiences reject music, maybe it’s bad.
- mannykannot 9y ago
  If the intent was to provoke a hostile reaction, then I would tend to agree, but I think it was a good-faith attempt to make enjoyable music that was not immediately successful, but which had a silver lining for the apparently dejected composer. If you go to a concert of new works, I think you have a obligation to not interfere with the rest of the audience's attempt to appreciate it, even if you do not. It seems that the objectors' rejection of the work was not shared by the whole audience, or even a majority.
  - melq 9y ago
    Not that I condone the audience's behavior, but this was not the premiere. They mention having played it in Boston before taking it to NY.
bjoli 9y ago
Story time: I went to a park performance of "Drumming" (which for those who don't know the piece contains lots of subtle changes) here there was a drunk man standing in front yelling "YEEEEAAAH! WOOOOHOOO!" every time he noticed a change.
newman8r 9y ago
First time I've heard of him, but I just checked out Steve Reich: Pulse/Quartet on spotify and it was very nice. good background music for working.

eadmund 9y ago

> The boorish, self-centered behavior of certain audience members would have made it very difficult to appreciate anything of the work at its premiere. Is it the audiences or the composers & performers who are boorish & self-centred? This quote from the article is a bit revealing: ‘For sure, by tomorrow, everyone in the world is going to know about you and your music.’ Good music isn’t about being known; it’s about good music. No doubt someone could release 40 minutes of flatulence and get everyone talking about it — but that wouldn’t make it good music. When audiences reject music, maybe it’s bad.

mannykannot 9y ago
If the intent was to provoke a hostile reaction, then I would tend to agree, but I think it was a good-faith attempt to make enjoyable music that was not immediately successful, but which had a silver lining for the apparently dejected composer. If you go to a concert of new works, I think you have a obligation to not interfere with the rest of the audience's attempt to appreciate it, even if you do not. It seems that the objectors' rejection of the work was not shared by the whole audience, or even a majority.
- melq 9y ago
  Not that I condone the audience's behavior, but this was not the premiere. They mention having played it in Boston before taking it to NY.

bjoli 9y ago

Story time: I went to a park performance of "Drumming" (which for those who don't know the piece contains lots of subtle changes) here there was a drunk man standing in front yelling "YEEEEAAAH! WOOOOHOOO!" every time he noticed a change.

newman8r 9y ago

First time I've heard of him, but I just checked out Steve Reich: Pulse/Quartet on spotify and it was very nice. good background music for working.