Minimalists on Music and Life

In their own words: five pioneering composers share their thoughts on music, creativity, and life—sometimes profound, sometimes provocative, and occasionally downright funny!

Once I tried lots of mustard on a raw turnip. I liked it better than any Beethoven I had ever heard.

—La Monte Young

I am wildly interested in repetition, because I think it demonstrates control.

—La Monte Young

In C was kind of a gift to me.

—Terry Riley

In any period of life, I haven’t felt nailed down to anything.

—Terry Riley

Well, you know what they say — if you remember the sixties, you weren’t there.

—Terry Riley

I just want people to be moved by the music.

—Steve Reich

I think manifestos are inherently for stupid people who can’t fly by the seat of their pants.

—Steve Reich

I want to be able to hear the process happening throughout the sounding music.

—Steve Reich

I never liked the word, but I liked the attention!

—Philip Glass on the word “Minimalism”

If you can count to eight, you can count Einstein on the Beach

—Philip Glass

My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies.

—Philip Glass

There is a place for humor in music.

—John Adams

The bottom line is that music is fundamentally about feeling

—John Adams

It amuses me when I come to Europe and see that I’m considered a ‘minimalist’.

—John Adams

I consider myself essentially a composer who conducts.

—John Adams

I found the old avant-garde to be just impossibly grim

—John Adams

The minute there’s not something interesting happening, I get fidgety.

—John Adams

But people are stubborn and cling to their classifications.

—John Adams

We composers, we’re scavengers.

—John Adams

I like to think of conducting as the yang and composing as the yin of my musical life.

—John Adams