Minimalists and Pianos

[sordel]

to me, Six Pianos is the most Reichian work by Reich.

Of the composers who are most strongly associated at some point in their career with Minimalism (LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, John Adams, Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, Andrew Poppy, Michael Gordon) only LaMonte Young (The Well Tuned Piano) seems to have the solo piano associated with a major work.

Terry Riley is a keyboardist, but he specialises in organs. He has a major piano work to his name (The Harp of the New Albion) but it isn't really a Minimalist work. (The Heaven Ladder for solo piano, about which I know very little but seems very promising, does not seem to be minimalist from the little recorded.) His iconic work, In C, is for ensembles.

John Adams has "Phrygian Gates" and "China Gates": both good works but (and maybe this is just me) they sound like reductions of what he was much more interested in doing with an orchestra. Adams is so good at orchestration that this in itself tends to skew my view of his works.

Glass is more associated with electronic keyboards, and his work for solo piano (e.g. the album Solo Piano!) is pretty poor. Later in his career he has again moved to orchestral writing or the opera house. I can't think of a Glass work for piano that is even considerable.

Nyman is very associated with piano now, but his most characteristic works are for ensembles of strings and winds, and his piano music is again not Minimalist. He has a more important harpsichord work! (The Convertability of Lute Strings)

Steve Reich has Six Pianos and Piano Phase, but his seminal phase work is "Come Out" (for tape machine) and his most famous "High Minimalist" works are for ensembles with prominent tuned percussion: e.g. Drumming & Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ. Pianos are prominent in Music for 18 Musicians (among other of Reich's early ensemble pieces), but not more so than tuned percussion (in a work that calls for marimbas, vibraphones and xylophone).

Compare the prominence of strings. Some of the best works by Glass and Nyman are their string quartets, and both have given important roles to the violin. The seminal work of Reich's second period is Different Trains, for string quartet and samples. Adams's Shaker Loops, originally for string septet, is his major early work. Terry Riley's string quartets seem to be his major through-written works.

I don't think that any of this is accidental, because I think that it is probably very difficult to play lines that are consistent in volume, envelope and timing on a piano, compared with an electronic keyboard, organ or tuned percussion. For Piano Phase most of the work is in the tape machine: having a live pianist at all seems like a compromise. Six Pianos is unusual in being written without a tape framework, but even so I much prefer it in Reich's reworking for Six Marimbas.

So ... I actually find it very difficult to associate Reich with piano because his techniques are equally applicable to other instruments and piano seems somewhat "unsympathetic" to Minimalists in general.

[redbaron]

Glass is more associated with electronic keyboards, and his work for solo piano (e.g. the album Solo Piano!) is pretty poor.

That's a matter of opinion.

Glass piano works (particularly the pieces from the Solo Piano album such as Metamorphosis and Wichita Vortex Sutra) are regularly performed in concert halls all over the world. Hardly the calling card of works which are "pretty poor"...

[sordel]

That's a matter of opinion.

Glass piano works (particularly the pieces from the Solo Piano album such as Metamorphosis and Wichita Vortex Sutra) are regularly performed in concert halls all over the world. Hardly the calling card of works which are "pretty poor"...

Well, I don't tend to write IMHO after everything I post, but I certainly accept that it is simply my opinion that Glass's piano works are poor. It's an opinion that I would stick to pretty ardently, but I will willingly listen to your argument on their behalf.

I'm not sure that the fact that a work is performed widely is much indication as to its value. If it were, then Einaudi would currently be the best living composer for the piano.

[quiescen]

Don't forget Phillip Aaberg and George Winston! 

[sordel]

Don't forget Phillip Aaberg and George Winston! 

Hard to forget about two people I've never heard of.  I thought for a moment that you were telling me about two seminal minimalist composers but - since their Wikipedia page says they're both signed to Wyndham Hill - I assume that they're two more Einaudists (?)

[redbaron]

There's nothing wrong with a bit of Einaudi either. His music may be very samey but it's melodically very beautiful and often rather moving. Isn't that the point of music when all is said and done?

[sordel]

There's nothing wrong with a bit of Einaudi either. His music may be very samey but it's melodically very beautiful and often rather moving. Isn't that the point of music when all is said and done?

My point wasn't that there's anything wrong with Einaudi (although in my opinion it's insipid rubbish and I find the claim that it's "very beautiful" to be laughable). My point was that we don't assess the quality of music by how widely it is performed, and that is matter of fact and not opinion.

[indutrial]

I recently heard Philip Glass' work Four Movements for Two Pianos, and he's still hocking the same uninteresting rubbish that he's been composing for years. At this point, it sounds like sub-par video game background music. His output is most certainly poor and shows no signs of turning into anything decent anytime soon.

[quantum]

Should give a mention to Ann Southam's cycles of Glass Houses and Rivers.  They are a significant body of work for solo piano.  Southam passed away last year. 

[sordel]

Should give a mention to Ann Southam's cycles of Glass Houses and Rivers.  They are a significant body of work for solo piano.  Southam passed away last year.  

Thank you; she's a new name to me ... I'll have to check her out.

Since starting this thread I've also remembered Simeon Ten Holt, who is certainly a piano specialist amongst minimalists.

I've also found two large boxed sets called Minimal Piano Collection (one is solo piano and the other for multiple pianos) by Jeroen van Veen. Since the two sets together run to twenty CDs, I suppose it's safe to say that van Veen at least would debate my contention that the piano is not a very good minimalist instrument.

[sordel]

Pierre-Laurent Aimard has recorded Reich Music For Pieces of Wood for piano, and it's just short enough to be downloaded individually from iTunes. I'm not sure how it was recorded (multi-track, I would guess) but it's an interesting attempt.