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I often wonder though -- if Glass (or Reich for that matter) happened to start their careers at a time and place where sequencing and sampling were commonplace

I often wonder though -- if Glass (or Reich for that matter) happened to start their careers at a time and place where sequencing and sampling were commonplace and accepted, and created their work using that medium, would the music really suffer much? Is the superhuman virtuoso musical dexterity and focus required to properly perform these pieces really germane to their success as musical compositions?

andybak 12y ago
During the period AFTER the advent of sampling/sequencing but BEFORE the rise of YouTube as a channel to consume music you might have been right. But I think people view music performance now much more than they ever viewed music performance prior and witnesses the actual act of performing is intrinsic to enjoying many pieces. It's one thing simply knowing a piece was played by humans but seeing it played adds an extra dimension and I think the popularity of some performances now depends on this.