Minimal ?

A cd by Ensemble Modern of Steve Reich pieces. City Life, New York Counterpoint, Eight Lines and Violin Phase. Steve Reich probably has more influence with rock musicians than classical musicians these days. Sadly perhaps, since rock musicians tend to take a much more superficial approach to their borrowing than more serious players or composers might. The pieces featured here cover eighteen years. City Life is the most elaborate and is a bit of a trip mixing Reich's early tape manipulation ideas with the ensemble. Violin Phase is like a hypnotic peeling of bells. The other two pieces fall somewhere in between. Reich is often lazily lumped together with John Adams and Philip Glass but I think time has shown the three to be quite different artists following very different tracks.