Geoff Smith (2)

[Review originally published in EST magazine , 1995]

This book interviews some of the best known modern American composers (and some of those a little less well known), including John Cage, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Terry Riley, LaMonte Young, John Adams, Harold Budd, Glenn Branca, Meredith Monk, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Lucier and Ingram Marshall.

The two themes that run throughout the book are the influence of Cage, and the minimalist tradition. Both are identified by most of the interviewees as a reaction against "European" classical music of the fifties and sixties, i.e. serialism.

Most of the interviews are interesting, although the significant problem throughout is a lack of context, as the Smiths leave their subjects to talk and add very little of their own critical voice. There probably won't be many amongst this book's readership who've actually heard the music of Young, Lucier, Marshall and several of the others, let alone heard of them, so I wonder if people drawn in by the presence of Glass, Reich and Adams will end up a little bewildered.

Despite the divergent types of music made by most of these composers, there's a homogeneity to their opinions which is quite noticeable, a consensus which is perhaps unsurprising given their status as the old guard of the avant-garde. It makes the American composers' community seem more insular than they really are, and the repeated complaints about European music suggest an unfortunate parochialism. Some of the interviews are also frustratingly short, with answers to questions never quite followed up in the way you'd like them to have been.

But, for all its limitations, it's both accessible and informative, particularly if you're familiar with several of the interviewees and would like to learn more about their motivations and ideas.… (plus d'informations)