Steve Reich: ‘We all wish art could counter the direction of US politics. But it can’t’
Now 88, the minimalist composer has reissued his life’s work. He answers your questions about Bowie, the Grateful Dead, spirituality – and his complicated friendship with Philip Glass
Why does minimalist music consist of so much repetition? Correllisflute
The word “minimalist” was invented by Michael Nyman when he was more of a music critic than a composer, but the kind of music that I and people like me deal with has changes on a much smaller scale than people are used to hearing. The number of repetitions is the nature of the music. On my early pieces, such as It’s Gonna Rain or Piano Phase, everything moves so slowly. Some people will say: “To hell with it, I’m not listening to that,” but those who do experience a different kind of listening.
Not only was David Bowie influenced by your work during his Berlin era, but also your Clapping Music is sampled on the hypnotic James Murphy remix of Bowie’s Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix). What do you recall of your conversations with Bowie in 1978? McScootikins
We played Music for 18 Musicians at the Bottom Line in New York, the first time we’d played it in a rock club. Afterwards, David Bowie came up and introduced himself and a photograph was taken, but really it was one of the very short post-concert conversations. It was the exchange of mutual admiration that really mattered. I was so delighted to see him there and he told me he’d heard us play the piece before, in Berlin. It was a nice coming together. The James Murphy remix is an odd combination that seems to work. Sometimes, you hear what people do with your music and think: “What have they done to me?” But that sounded really interesting. I wanted to hear it again.
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