Steve Reich was a pioneer of classical minimalism, and his masterpiece, Music for Eighteen Musicians, altered the course of contemporary music forever. The Eighteen musicians are: a violin, a cello, a metallophone, two xylophones, two clarinets, three marimbas, four pianos, and four female vocalists. The piece centers around eleven chords that spiral around one another with instruments fading in and out, melodies aligning and maligning. The individual musicians hold the pulsing chord while the others deconstruct it until you almost forget where you started - which in the end is precisely where you end up.
This Saturday, Bang on a Can will perform Music for 18 Musicians at the MassMOCA in North Adams, MA. It's a show that is guaranteed to bring down the house. Here's just a taste:
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