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Program 726: European Minimalism

KALW Broadcast Date: January 22, 2023 | Host: Joseph Bohigian

This program features minimalist music from Europe. Minimalist music began as a distinctly American style of composition in the 1960s concentrated in California and downtown New York with composers such as Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and La Monte Young. As its stature grew, this new style, which Michael Nyman describes as “anti-European,” began to have a profound effect on European composers throughout the 70s and 80s and was reinterpreted in many ways by composers across the continent. The different offshoots of minimalism in Europe have varying degrees of similarity to the works of the early American minimalists. The composers who adopted minimalist techniques often did so in ways that supported their preexisting aesthetic or political views, resulting in a variety of interpretations. This program includes English composer Michael Nyman’s String Quartet No. 2, Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s De Staat, Belgian composer Karel GoeyvaertsLitanie V, and Polish composer Hanna Kulenty’s A Fourth Circle.

Program Audio

30-Second Spot

Track Info & Links
Michael Nyman, String Quartets 1-3, Balanescu Quartet

Title: String Quartet No. 2
Composer: Michael Nyman
Performers: Balanescu Quartet
Recording Title: Michael Nyman: String Quartets 1 – 3
Record Label: Argo
Catalog Number: 433 093-2

Louis Andriessen, De Staat

Title: De Staat
Composer: Louis Andriessen
Performers: Asko|Schönberg; Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor
Recording Title: De Staat
Record Label: Elektra nonesuch
Catalog Number: 979251-2

Karel Goeyvaerts, Litanies

Title: Litanie V
Composer: Karel Goeyvaerts
Performers: Christine Wauters
Recording Title: Karel Goeyvaerts – Litanies
Record Label: Megadisc Classics
Catalog Number: MDC 7872 / 73

Hanna Kulenty Arcs and Circles

Title: A Fourth Circle
Composer: Hanna Kulenty
Performers: Reimund Korupp, violin and Frank Peters, piano
Recording Title: Arcs & Circles
Record Label: Frau Musica (Nova)
Catalog Number: Frau Musica 003

Henri Dutilleux smoking a cigarette
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