http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1305&rws=%2Fsteve-reich%2Fmusic-videos.rssFamous for his work with phasing, Reich has become one of the most recognized and popular of the American Minimalists, alongside Philip Glass. Reich's early phasing experiments involved playing several tape loops simultaneously, letting them gradually fall out of phase over a period of time. The result was a dynamic generation and degeneration of unexpected rhythms and harmonies. This technique is most directly illustrated in <i>It's Gonna Rain</i> (1965) and <i>Come Out</i> (1966). During the late 1960s and into the '70s, Reich applied the technique to acoustic instruments, composing <i>Violin Phase</i> (1967) and the popular <i>Drumming</i> (1971). By <i>Music for 18 Musicians</i> (1976), the composer had garnered both critical and popular praise, which gave him license to explore more personal subjects. <i>Tehillim</i> (1981), <i>Different Trains</i> (1988) and his multimedia opera <i>The Cave</i> (1990-93) all explore aspects of his Jewish heritage. Though phasing techniques figure prominently in these works, the Minimalist preoccupation with process shares the stage with content, a marriage which has earned him enormous record sales and praise from listeners who tend to approach new music with extreme caution. - Doug RussellMinimalismen720Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:07:23 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1305&rws=%2Fsteve-reich%2Fmusic-videos.rss Famous for his work with phasing, Reich has become one of the most recognized and popular of the American Minimalists, alongside Philip Glass. Reich's early phasing experiments involved playing several tape loops simultaneously, letting them gradually fall out of phase over a period of time. The result was a dynamic generation and degeneration of unexpected rhythms and harmonies. This technique is most directly illustrated in <i>It's Gonna Rain</i> (1965) and <i>Come Out</i> (1966). During the late 1960s and into the '70s, Reich applied the technique to acoustic instruments, composing <i>Violin Phase</i> (1967) and the popular <i>Drumming</i> (1971). By <i>Music for 18 Musicians</i> (1976), the composer had garnered both critical and popular praise, which gave him license to explore more personal subjects. <i>Tehillim</i> (1981), <i>Different Trains</i> (1988) and his multimedia opera <i>The Cave</i> (1990-93) all explore aspects of his Jewish heritage. Though phasing techniques figure prominently in these works, the Minimalist preoccupation with process shares the stage with content, a marriage which has earned him enormous record sales and praise from listeners who tend to approach new music with extreme caution. - Doug Russell