The Art of Repetition: A History of Minimalism

A look at the biggest trend of the late 20th century.
This was a viewer request from KZbinrs Eric Rakestraw and kevs musicandstuff. Please note that requests for future videos are on hold for the time being, given the extraordinary number of requests I've already received.
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Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
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Music:
- Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, performed by eighth blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, et al. [original upload: ZXJWO2FQ16c]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Steve Reich: Piano Phase, performed by Rob Kovacs [original upload: AnQdP03iYIo, and a mesmerizing one at that!]
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Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information.

[@CheekyFest]

Years ago I attended a John Adams weekend in London, at which he was present. During a Discussion I was in the audience for, he quipped "minimalism ran the risk of repeating itself"

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

Those of us who studied music in university in the 1950s and 1960s soon realized that, as composers, we were not going to get more complex than Boulez. With that in mind traveled the traditional route and went back to simple. We rejected the 12-tone system and the non-metrical rhythmic complexities that plagued performers in mid-century. I wrote my first minimalist piece in 1971, a wind sextet vaguely reminiscent of Stravinsky's Symphonies of Winds from 1920. While Philip Glass spent his entire career relentlessly repeating triads (because he is such a poor pianist), many of us sought to incorporate techniques that came down to us from Bach to Bartok. All minimalist composers struggle to keep the compositional process observable while avoiding the tendency to be boring or even moronic.

[@finneganlindsay]

That's the problem. You are still thinking in terms of Complexity vs Lack thereof. Have fun with your reactionary garbage.

[@ericrakestraw664]

You mention John Cage as an early influence of minimalism. I would also include Anton Webern in that discussion, too. While Webern came out of the serialist/atonal movement of Schoenberg and Berg, his music kind of went in another direction with an economy of materials and super sparse textures, which would influence the later minimalist composers such as Lamonte Young. One of Young's early pieces was a 12-tone string trio which used extremely long tones, thus taking what he learned from serialism and applying it to minimalism.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Certainly there are examples of cross-pollination between differing aesthetic principles, but in the broader scope, I think it's more useful to view minimalism as a reaction against the rigors of serialism. Both are economical in their usage of musical material, but the end result is vastly different-and many other composers are equally economical in yet different ways. A lot of the minimalists didn't like what they were hearing in "serious" musical circles, and congregated around a rough aggregate of what had been rejected by academia. (This video also barely touches on a lot of other interesting influences, such as non-Western music, which could be a whole doctoral dissertation unto itself.)

[@ericrakestraw664]

Not to mention, the influence of minimalist painters and sculpters from the 1950s, which later spread to music.

[@DrMarianus]

@@ericrakestraw664 Let's not forget Jon Gnagy

[@gabrielmcwethy3441]

Philip Glass is one of my favorite composers... Nyman is good too. Julia Woolfe is a good minamalist composer.

[@doctormock1]

What? No mention of the relationship between some early minimalists and Moondog?

[@TheNadashakti]

Thank you for such a crisp, clear description. Look forward to more videos in this topic.

[@forresta.watsoniiicomposer5957]

I would highly recommend the Dutch minimalist composer, Simeon ten Holt. I had never heard of him in American schools, but he's quite well known in the Netherlands, where I now live.

[@MarekPiacek]

And Andriessen of course :-)

[@howard5992]

1923-2012 ... well known for his work for piano

[@canticle56]

He is a very interesting compositional voice. Love his work. Canto Ostinato to start.

[@charliehaffke2051]

Can’t forget about Frippertronics, which I do believe should count as this type of classical music. Also krautrock artists like Neu and Harmonia

[@adi0jar]

A much required channel...great content...also can you make a video on the current form/style being explored and developed on the classical music front (things beyond post-minimalism and neo-classism)...Looking forward to new videos...

[@robkovacsmusic]

Good video! Nice job explaining minimalism’s connection with aleatoricism and serialism.

[@erikwhite494]

Thank you so much for your videos! This is so enjoyable to watch, and easy to digest.

[@rfrancis9876]

Brilliant video. This is very helpful for one who is trying to understand this style of music.

[@NA-jo6bv]

It’s so great that you explained this topic thoroughly! Thanks!

[@ericrakestraw664]

Thanks for taking my request.

[@gabrielmcwethy3441]

I would kill for this guys library lol

[@dgbx6]

Fabulous summary. Thanks for this.

[@GICM]

repetition legitimizes

[@goonyougoodthing]

Great Job . as a fan of minimalist music and your videos I appreciate it.

[@blackmagentaorange5940]

Best video yet!

[@TrumpetPlayerRayban]

I love these videos, thank you

[@russellhenrybieber6620]

what do people think of the German band CAN within the world of modern composition

[@kjetilbirkeland1]

Fantastic video.

[@oguzalpcim4771]

Great channel!

[@bernab]

What do you think about Stravinsky and Messiaen?. They both used repetition and blocks which I think they were also influences. Messiaen also was influenced by Indian and Eastern Music. I think they used more repetition than most mid 20th century composers....

[@gabrielagoni8131]

Thank you for all your great videos. Could you do one about Pauline Oliveros?

[@ClassicalNerd]

I'll take it under consideration-however, I've had to stop promising fulfillment of all new requests because of the massive number of them. It'll eventually be made, but I don't want to set a date-and it'll probably be well into the future. lentovivace.com/requestqueue.html is the source for a visualization of current requests.

[@flynnmchardy7362]

Should do a video about modern film composers I.e Mica Levi, Oneohtrix point never, Jonny Greenwood. I think this would work nicely. Love your stuff

[@edwardgivenscomposer]

It’s the old rule that drunks have to argue and get into fights. The lover is just as bad: he falls into a hole. But down in that hole he finds something shining, worth more than any amount of money or power. Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street. I took it as a sign to start singing, falling up into the bowl of sky. The bowl breaks. Everywhere is falling everywhere. Nothing else to do. Here’s the new rule: break the wineglass, and fall toward the Glassblower’s breath. - Rumi

[@Catthepunk]

Bro, that guy playing two pianos with both hands at different TEMPOS. Wow.

[@DominicAirola]

Wow nice channel!

[@diegodigiorgio29]

Una verdadera pena que el canal no esté subtitulado. Los tema que aquí se tratan son de un gran interes para mí.

[@paolonatalini4184]

great

[@Guitar.Journey27]

Love your puns! ^^

[@Marie-Awadis]

Thank you so much for this very helpful information about minimal music in general !!! It opens the door for more curiosity and researching! Please can you mention the name of the first composer/artist at 4:42? I tried to search his name but didn't get any results... Thank you in advance🙏

[@ClassicalNerd]

La Monte Young!

[@Marie-Awadis]

@@ClassicalNerd Thank you !!!!

[@musicfanBRA]

Thank you, dear ClassicalNerd, but I would love to hear some very short clips illustrating what you are saying. A few seconds would help. But I realize that would take a considerable amount of time for research aand editing. Maybe you can partner with someone to do that?

[@ClassicalNerd]

This video is three years old. My production quality is _much_ better now.

[@MrMjp58]

I’ve tried quite hard over the years, but find I can’t abide serialist style music. After a minute or two of endurance, I have to turn it off, whoever the composer. The ideas behind it, strike me as interesting sociologically, but ultimately seem to be an attempt to be ‘effortlessly superior’ to a typical bourgeois listener. Just my opinion.

[@ivankaramasov]

I generally don't enjoy minimalist music much, but I remember Music for 18 musicians making a huge impression on me. Glass I generally find boring. His symphonies based on Bowie's albums Low and "Heroes" I find a lot less interesting than the original music. Terry Riley is probably the minimalist I like the most.

[@epiphoney]

Do minimalist composers wear minimalist shoes?

[@mathmanmrt]

knock, knock. who's there? knock, knock. who's there? knock, knock. who's there? knock, knock. who's there? knock, knock. who's there? knock, knock. who's there? philip glass

[@daryndawson-jones5914]

Brilliant video, but it’s worth mentioning that Steve Reich is pronounced “rye-sh” not “rye-ck”

[@peterurquhart9375]

Don't forget about Ludwig Senfl, Das Gläut zu Speyer

[@ThomasTVP]

Colin McPhee was the GRANDfather of minimalism.

[@DaviSilva-oc7iv]

The music people in 1000 years will hear.

[@samduell5848]

Never heard that Cage had anything to do with minimalism. I have always heard that Erik Satie was the grandfather of minimalism. What are your sources?

[@harrucci]

Is there any book with the principles of minimalism in music?

[@prepcoin_nl4362]

Four American Minimalists is the most comprehensive that I've personally read. Besides that, the literature is either mostly individual composers or pieces, or historical rather than analytical.

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

So what is the reason, dear friend,, why some sections go on so long. You never venture an answer so I shall: To bore us to death.

[@CheekyFest]

John Adams, also not to be confused with (musician) John LUTHER Adams

[@conradthe2]

low key called the opening number... the Reich

[@BewegtBildYT]

Glass only good piece was "Einstein on the Beach" everything else sounds boring...so I love him, but only for his opera ;)

[@chrischowhuh]

why not mentioning vavaldi🤣

[@KuroiPK]

I think that your are unsure if you can make content that is not biographical. But I think that you can easily cover others subjects. And I really enjoy this video.

[@KuroiPK]

What I think would be interesting is if you could provide a small playlist to the content of the video, maybe on Spotify. So that that your viewers can easily listen to it after your video. But I know that would further increase your work load.

[@ClassicalNerd]

My 1K video voiced concerns over the channel's slippage into nearly _exclusively_ biography. Of all kinds of videos, it's certainly what I've become most fluent in because of my desire to fulfill as many requests as possible. I don't _personally_ feel unsure of my ability to make non-biographical content, but including more of it _does_ preclude the many requests that have been submitted.

[@laurenceburris6361]

The history of minimalism. The history of minimalism. The history of minimalism. The history of minimalism. The history of minimalism. The history of minimalism.

[@playingmusiconmars]

I like this Comment. I like This Comment. I like this Comment. This Comment I like. This Comment I like. This Comment I like. This Comment. This Comment. This Comment. I like.

[@SL6NtheNorseman]

👍👍👍 👍👍 👍 👍👍 👍👍👍 👍👍 👍 👍👍 👍👍👍 👍👍 👍 👍👍 👍👍👍 👍👍 👍 👍👍

[@wp6007]

Would you consider doing Julius Eastman someday btw? He is one of my favorite composers. He isn't quite as historically significant as most of the composers you cover though, so if it takes a while that's fine.

[@ClassicalNerd]

It's not really a matter of whether I consider doing a given composer-as I only really have qualms about covering living composers whose history is still actively being written-but about how popular they seem to be over at lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html (and your request has been duly noted there).

[@wp6007]

@@ClassicalNerd Ah, cool.

[@ben-rosfeld]

Literally was about to comment and ask for a video on minimalism **goes to channel** **newest video is on minimalism**

[@ClassicalNerd]

Looks like my vague psychic abilities finally paid off.

[@Krix6426]

Much of minimalism feels anxious to me.

[@DrMarianus]

Erik Satie?

[@andrew_z_8547]

We all know deep inside that the height of minimalism was Minecraft music

[@ryounyan]

Worst KZbin comment

[@andrew_z_8547]

@@ryounyan "Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. “Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.” Ayat 286

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

Repetition legitimizes

[@quietmind7476]

More examples would have been nice.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Many examples would have landed me with a copyright strike.

[@lidlprinz]

who is that guy? 08:14

[@ClassicalNerd]

Rob Kovacs.

[@SunriseFireberry]

Ahh minimalism. Pachelbel's Canon. Bach's JJ of Man's Desiring. Ravel's Bolero. Verve's Bittersweet Symphony.

[@sebastianzaczek]

Bach prelude in C Major

[@marinewelsh9927]

What does that have to do with minimalism, the 20th century modern classical movement

[@SunriseFireberry]

@@marinewelsh9927 1st 3 are precursors and classical. 4th is influenced by 20thC classical minimalism, but in a different kind of music.

[@dordiwesterlund2528]

Beethoven's 6th symphony.

[@duncanthompson957]

Moondog

[@scottkunghadrengsen2604]

Like any good minimalist, he dislikes the term..still giggling...

[@amanieux]

what about inserting more examples instead of just speaking ?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Three things: 1. Newer videos do just that, where applicable; my video on the history of the concerto has an entire movement of one by Mozart. It's why newer uploads are much longer. 2. Copyright often gets in the way when dealing with recordings, and I've had public-domain recordings (such as those on IMSLP) falsely copy-stricken by record companies, and fighting them is a protracted process. 3. There are a lot of resources for people to listen to minimalist music, but-when I made this video-nothing substantive on the history, context, and musical reasoning behind such pieces. If anyone is interested in a composer or piece mentioned in any of my videos, there are plenty of resources to find such a piece-and hopefully, those who have seen my video will approach said piece(s) with a higher degree of knowledge with which to contextualize and improve their listening experiences.

[@camerontescher361]

Hey, can I ask you something? Yes ? Nevermind

[@max-tf3vo]

Twoset is everywhere

[@suomeaboo]

repetition legitimizes