Minimalist Ensemble
tagStarted 1964Peak 1970–presentLast big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Minimalist ensemble music is written for flexible, tightly coordinated groups of keyboards, winds, strings, voices, and percussion whose individual patterns fuse into a moving grid. The sound is usually amplified or closely miked, rhythmically exact, and brighter in attack than traditional chamber music.
History
Reich and Glass effectively built new ensemble types for their music, and these forces became one of the signature performing units of late-20th-century classical culture; later groups such as Bang on a Can All-Stars and Sō Percussion extended the model into postminimal chamber music, crossover projects, and touring repertory built around pulse, texture, and precision.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Music for 18 Musicians — Steve Reich and MusiciansSpotifyYouTube
- Music in Twelve Parts — Philip Glass EnsembleSpotifyYouTube
- Shelter — Bang on a Can All-StarsSpotifyYouTube
- In C — Terry RileySpotifyYouTube
- Music for Wood and Strings — Sō PercussionSpotifyYouTube
- Different Trains — Kronos QuartetSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Britannica Steve Reich and Philip Glass
- BBC Music Magazine. citeturn10view3turn0search5turn0search17