Different Trains (1990). Steve Reich /defining classical music, one concert at a time/

Kenneth Woods:

Classical music is acoustic music*.

This statement, to the extent it is endorsed and practiced by major musical arts organizations, could be a significant reason why I don't attend concerts as often as I could.

Or to phrase it differently, if I thought I could reliably repeat electronically-assisted musical experiences like John Adams' Doctor Atomic (at San Francisco Opera), Steve Reich's Different Trains (as played by Kronos at the Ojai Festival), or Philip Glass' Akhnaten (at Oakland Opera), I might actually subscribe to a series from one of the many organizations that hound me via telephone calls, mailed flyers etc.

Instead, I spend most of my discretionary classical music money at Tower, Amoeba and Amazon.

And I never really thought about it but Cal Performances, despite some idiosyncracies, happens to be my favorite Bay Area arts institution (with Oakland Opera as "talent deserving wider recognition.")

recent listening: the children's hour - charles ives /deborah voigt. blues - william grant still. pieces for cello and piano - webern. fell on black days - soundgarden. the sixth extinction crept up slowly, like the sunlight through the shutters, as we looked back in regret - red sparowes. spem in alium - thomas tallis

Comments

[david sumner]

Steve Reich is one of my favouite composers and Differnt trains is something that takes my breath away.

I am also into Cage,Feldman,Mac Low, Seesions,Reynolds,Babbit, Wolff, Ligeti,Xenakis, and so on ..just keeping reading my blogs.

[nicole]

I am into classical music also, I just love Steve Reich so much.. Hey I’ve found this interesting site, you might as well check this also