Writings on Music, 1965-2000.

REICH, Steve; Edited by Paul Hillier.

$600.00

Item Number: 2220

New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

First edition of Reich’s collection of music from 1965-2000. Octavo, original boards. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author, “For Peter Happy Birthday! Steve Reich.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Edited by Paul Hillier.

Writings on Music documents the creative journey of this thoughtful, groundbreaking composer. These 64 short pieces include Reich's 1968 essay "Music as a Gradual Process," widely considered one of the most influential pieces of music theory in the second half of the 20th century. Subsequent essays, articles, and interviews treat Reich's early work with tape and phase shifting, showing its development into more recent work with speech melody and instrumental music. Other essays recount his exposure to non-western music -- African drumming, Balinese gamelan, Hebrew cantillation -- and the influence of these musics as structures and not as sounds. The writings include Reich's reactions to and appreciations of the works of his contemporaries (John Cage, Luciano Berio, Morton Feldman, Gyorgy Ligeti) and older influences (Kurt Weill, Schoenberg). Each major work of the composer's career is also explored through notes written for performances and recordings.