James Canepa TH551 Music Since 1950 March 24, 2014 Homework 7 Listening Philip Glass: Einstein On The

Beach (1975) Einstein On The Beach is a notoriously long opera by the minimalist composer, hilip !lass" There is no clear story or narrati#e to piece, e$cept associations !lass ma%e to s&etches by his theatrical pro%ucer, 'obert (ilson" )t is not a piece o* music that one can *ollo+ +ithout losing their attention or train o* thought, nor is it meant to be a piece +here you *ollo+ it completely" ,s the piece goes, your ear easily recogni-es that it is in a repetiti#e state, an% you can thin& o* something else because the music is not saying anything asi%e *rom its repetitions" .nly +hen there are changes, +hether a big change or a minor one, your ear can pic& up that mo%i*ication an% in*orm you o* the change, bringing you bac& to reality" This is the un%erlying concept o* Minimalism" The smallest change can be #ery pro*oun% a*ter really long repetitions" The piece is about 4"5/5 hours long, 0ouTube #i%eos ha#e it at about 2"5 hours, ) ma%e it through about 1"5 hours" )t has en1oyable moments" 2or me, ) *in% the opening o* the opera *a#orable3 the slo+ bass line, slo+ harmony in the #oices that count 4uic&ly, the narrators spea&ing short phrases o#er each other" The counterpoint is most apparent at its most barren moments" These %ainty te$tures ser#e to tic&le my pre*erences more thoroughly" Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (197 !197") The %i**erent Pulses in the piece are base% aroun% %i**erent harmonies that come *ull circle to the beginning Pulse. 5reath is important to the piece, *rom the #oice to the clarinets an% bass clarinets" They are inten%e% to play as long as they ha#e air in their lungs be*ore beginning the ne$t phrase o* pulses" The *orm o* some o* the songs built aroun% the harmony are in a *orm, ,5C6C5,, curiously, in the same manner as the pulses rise an% *all" There is a cerebral 4uality to this piece in that it is #oi% o* changes the hilip !lass is" More me%itati#e in that +ay3 you can become more lost in it" )t is another long piece" Though i* it +ere programme% at a concert, ) +oul% go to see it playe%, ) +oul% be sure to mentally, emotionally an% physically prepare *or it" Steve Reich: Different Trains (19##) This piece is *or string 4uartet an% tape, +ritten *or the 7ronos 8uartet" The tape #oices a%%s a narrati#e to the piece that %ra+s your attention to it" )t is more %i**icult to lose your *ocus on the piece because the changes in the 4uartet an% tape narration al+ays grabs your *ocus to+ar% it" The *orm is in 9 parts: America before the War, ;urope During the War, an% After the War" 'eich<s Je+ish heritage +as a moti#ating aspect o* the piece3 he imagine% a train ri%e he +oul% ha#e ma%e +hile in ;urope %uring the holocaust instea% one +here he +ere #isiting his parents in the =S" This piece seems to be %i**erent *or 'eich" , lot o* his other music is more introspecti#e than this one" He is really trying to tell us about the e#ents o* the e$traction an% concentration o* the Je+s %uring (orl% (ar ))" The train +histle soun%s an% an% repetiti#e strings rhythms are %istraught an% *orebo%ing"