Event is Live
CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Three Generations: John Adams and Terry Riley
Thursday, March 30, 2017
7:30 PM
Zankel Hall
Part of the Steve Reich–curated Three Generations exploration of the changing direction of concert music, this evening focuses on the pioneering first generation of composers. In his revolutionary In C, Terry Riley took 53 phrases, or modules, and gave players the freedom to repeat them as often as they like before moving to the next phrase. The resulting work introduced minimalism to the mainstream. John Adams’s Shaker Loops owes much to the minimalist movement, but also uses small repeating melodic fragments, a technique popularized by Steve Reich in his tape music. Adams’s piece refers to the Shaker religious group, recreating their ecstatic ritual dance in music that is wildly exciting, beautifully meditative, and always fascinating.
Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.
Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.
Performers
Ensemble Signal
Brad Lubman, Conductor
Program
JOHN ADAMS Shaker Loops
TERRY RILEY In C (original version)
Performance includes a discussion with Steve Reich and John Adams
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately 70 minutes without intermission, followed by a discussion with Steve Reich and John Adams.
Public support for Three Generations is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Steve Reich is the holder of the 2016–2017 Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall.
Three Generations: Changing the Direction of Concert Music
I have curated this series of four
concerts to demonstrate how concert music has
changed from the mid-20th century to the present by pivoting from serial / random
chance / atonal music—in which discernible harmony, rhythm, or melody was
difficult or impossible to hear—to a powerful restoration of all these musical
basics in totally new ways.
The first generation to initiate those changes are now in their 70s or 80s and include Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt, and John Adams. The music of these composers then interested a younger generation now approaching their 60s, including Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, who formed the Bang on a Can collective. In turn, a still younger generation, now approaching their 40s, took up both of these earlier generations and carried all these ideas even further. This very large generation is represented here by Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly.
In addition to the performance of their music by several outstanding ensembles—including Ensemble Signal, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the JACK Quartet—many of these composers will discuss their music after the concerts.
—Steve Reich
The first generation to initiate those changes are now in their 70s or 80s and include Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt, and John Adams. The music of these composers then interested a younger generation now approaching their 60s, including Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, who formed the Bang on a Can collective. In turn, a still younger generation, now approaching their 40s, took up both of these earlier generations and carried all these ideas even further. This very large generation is represented here by Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly.
In addition to the performance of their music by several outstanding ensembles—including Ensemble Signal, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the JACK Quartet—many of these composers will discuss their music after the concerts.
—Steve Reich