60 Years Of Terry Riley’s “In C”
NPR shared a retrospective of Terry Riley’s In C, arguably THE seminal work in the rise of minimalism in classical music, and a hugely influential work on electronic musicians.
In C was a unique work when it was introduced – an avant garde classical music work that immediately embraced by listeners. It debuted Nov. 4, 1964 at the San Francisco Tape Music Center, with composers Steve Reich, Morton Subotnick and Pauline Oliveros participating.
The composition is built around 53 short musical phrases that each musician plays, repeating the phrases an undetermined number of times before moving on to the next. Instrumentation is up to the performers. Because of the way the phrases can be repeated a different number of times by each performer, and the open instrumentation, the piece can vary in texture, shape and length.
In C was a direct influence on minimalists Steve Reich and Philip Glass, who were soon creating their own styles of minimal music. And you can hear the influence of In C and Terry Riley’s music in popular works, ranging from The Who‘s Baba O’Riley from 1971, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells from 1973, and the work of Tangerine Dream and other electronic music groups.
Terry Riley’s In C: The eternal evolution of Terry Riley’s minimalist masterpiece
