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Comment by okareaman | Hacker News Reader

If you're a fan of Philip Glass but haven't explored the works of Steve Reich I highly recommend it

Reich is brilliant! “Come out” is a very affecting piece, and the history behind it is also quite interesting.

Also, judging from the name, OP is probably also a fan of Arvo Part. There is a moving “video etude” for the piece Healing of Arinushka that I would recommend if you’re feeling contemplative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7exvD2nJG8

I was pleasantly surprised watching the tv show Devs when they made very effective use of "Come out"

Steve Reichs work is brilliant. I also enjoy the Reich Remixed album (c 1999) which was (as I think of it) a modern take on modern music - interestingly, I’d say the “modern take” part has aged the worst, but it’s still all good fun.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lYC12ZK5DudCAd...

Haha I was going to mention Reich Remixed! I spent a lot of time programming to that music when I was a teen. Definitely fun!

My favorite track was probably Nobukazu Takemura’s remix of Proverb https://youtu.be/-ipSM8bwo4M

The big problem I had with Reich Remixed is that all but one of the pieces completely ignore the meter of the originals and force them into 4/4. Call me a pedant or something, but I just found that unforgivable.

Huh - I didn’t notice that, but that’s something for me to now look for. “Pedantic” is not the word I’d use to describe your observation here re: Steve Reich, master of phasing and polyrhythms and rounds.

Music for 18 Musicians is my favorite composition.

Some crazy post-grad at Rutgers convinced enough colleagues to make it her performance piece a few years ago, and it was free to boot, so I drove a couple hours with a friend to see it. It’s great on recordings, and much cooler to be in the room with it live.

I’ve also recently come to love (especially the first half/performance of) Terry Riley’s Persian Surgery Dervishes. With just an organ and a delay pedal, he builds such a trancelike, subdued and dark yet pleasant mood.

Steve* Reich.

IMO, an excellent first listen would be Tehillim. [0]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiaTvR9sFX8

Steve* thanks fixed it. My intro was Different Trains. I think his 9/11 piece is the best art to come out of that tragic event.

Steve Reich - Different Trains (Part 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E4Bjt_zVJc

Proverb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lgAUHVFC4

Steve Reich: WTC 9/11 I. 9/11 Kronos Quartet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWhTkOMue70

Different Trains can be incredibly powerful live. A local to me collective of musicians put together somewhat recently (last year around this time, or perhaps the year before) a small show that involved both Different Trains and Terry Riley's In C with local compositions in between. It was a powerful evening for the small audience (myself included) that was there to appreciate it.

(ETA: Must have been two years ago as other memories flit in. That was an interesting year too because it was a year I saw two very different live versions of In C, which seems unusual to have occur twice in the same year.)

IMO, there's really no good first listen for Reich's work.

You might love or hate "Come Out" or "It's Gonna Rain", and hate or love "Different Trains". You might be entranced or utterly bored by "Six Marimbas" but be disinterested or engaged by "Music For Ensemble and Orchestra". etc. etc.

Best to plan on diving in about once a decade and see if you like what he was doing then. My suggestions would be:

  60s: Come out
  70s: Music for 18 Musicians
  80s: Tehillim
  90s: Different Trains
  00s: Double Sextet
  10s: Reich/Richter

Personally, I'm a huge fan of his phase-shifting work, so for me the keys works would be:

  Six Pianos / Six Marimbas
  Clapping Music
  Music For 18 Musicians
  Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ
  Drumming

There are also some very "pretty" ensemble orchestral works:

  Sextet
  Desert Music

and then ... so much more!

For the adventurous, also check out the album "Shift" by Chris Hughes: renderings of various early Reich works (or ideas) using totally different timbres.

While a fine piece, Tehillim is by Reich’s own admission not very representative of his work.

That's kind of why I recommend it. One's first experience with a composer should be their most accessible work, IMO.

Those who have not heard Reich have not heard a lot of western art music, most likely. I went with the piece that is closest in form and style to the popular music of our time.

I apologize to other users here, for not having made that more clear in my post.

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