Comments on: Steve Reich

By: Melissawilliams

2008-10-29T02:50:43Z

In response to Katharine’s post:

I agree with what she stated about how De Keersmaeker’s takes away from Steve Reich’s music. The choreography was beautiful, but it wasn’t as intricate as I wanted it to be. Watching the dancers of “Piano Phase” repeat the same spinning move over and over became very boring after a while. Steve Reich’s music needed to be expressed better in the choreography.

By: jcammarata

2008-10-29T02:04:05Z

Harper’s comment on Steve Reich making us look for music that can be found in every day life is something that I agree with and felt while at the performance. For these professional musicians who have such a great amount of skill to be playing something that while incredibly precise, drops what we know from pop music (from the “music just makes sense” cliche’s even to the entertaining aspect of it.) Reich uses his music not as a means to please our ear, but instead as a tool to provoke our thoughts as to what music really is.

By: rlee

2008-10-29T00:35:46Z

I agree with “tnunez” in the idea that the performances were too long. I feel that I would have enjoyed the performances if they were a bit shorter. However, I disagree with the idea that the pieces were too repetative. I feel like that was the Reich’s style. If the pieces weren’t as repetative as they were, I think I would have lost the hypnotic feel that I had experienced.

By: vbaldassare

2008-10-29T00:21:12Z

I liked the way Karen described Steve Reich’s music as mathematical and scientific. However, instead of taking away from the music, I felt it added to it. I love to see the boundaries between the sciences and art be crossed. However, instead of trying to follow the rhythms and predict what would come next, I found myself enjoying them and simply listening to them weave in and out without worrying when they would resolve.

By: kmaller

2008-10-29T00:15:21Z

Responding to Mary’s and Tyler’s responses…

Perhaps the intent of the show was to captivate the audience through a “trance-like” depiction of Reich’s music. Studying music theory for two years has, however, taught me to listen and watch actively. While listening actively to Reich’s music is fulfilling, the same could not be said for the dances. Maybe if I could have detached myself from the performance, I’d have a much fuller enjoyment of the show.

(I hope this doesn’t sound arrogant…but the piece “Marimba Phase” was played on two Marimbas…Xylophones and Glockenspiels are entirely different instruments. Xylophones rarely span more than 3 octaves, and glockenspiels are made of metal, usually brass. Just clarifying, as a nerdy mallet percussionist.)

By: jganley

2008-10-29T00:11:54Z

In response to DeAsia Moore:

“The reason why this piece stood out the most was because it was not like the rest of the pieces that included lively light, sounds and dancers moving with the music. The pendulums were the focus of the music and the simple swinging back and forth was enough. The simplicity of this piece was very ambiguous and allowed the viewers to interpret what they think occurred and what the pendulums could have meant.”

I agree with DeAsia that “Pendulum Music” was the most intriguing piece of the performance due to its sheer simplicity. In my interpretation of the piece, I found the swinging of the pendulums to simply represent time. However, DeAsia’s thought that the performance can be open to ambiguous interpretations is a brilliant one. Whereas in most of the other performances, the dancers interpret the music within their dances, “Pendulum Music” involves only musical equipment. Therefore, interpretation is merely left to you, the audience.

By: glue

2008-10-28T22:57:45Z

In response to Suleyman’s comment, I have to agree when I say that the show was interesting if anything. I also agree with him in the sense that I also felt that the show was drawn out longer than what felt necessary. If anything stood out from the show it would have to be the sheer originality of the type of music and the dancers’ interpretation of it.

By: rscherer

2008-10-28T22:52:51Z

I agree with Beth’s post about the glockenspiel performers. Each musician followed his own rhythm, rarely staying in sync with the other. I really liked her description about this piece and how it resulted in the sound of seemingly hundreds of glocks playing at once. It’s also interesting to hear about the apparent African origins of this type of out-of-sync percussion.

By: itall

2008-10-28T22:51:59Z

It is, if I may make an understatement, interesting to note that quite a few people were captivated or at least puzzled by the metronome piece as I was. Each of us tried to make sense of a piece that may not have been meant to make sense and each of us got a different outcome. I find that the best part of that piece. the fact that different people are able to see it differently is a testament to the artist’s talent and his ambiguous yet still very present and real intent.

By: igrechtchouk

2008-10-28T21:23:10Z

Ultimately I feel that the entire class has a similar idea about the show. I agree with many of the comments, that the music was very “trance-like” and somewhat monotonous, especially to the untrained ear, and that the choreography was very rhythmic and flowed along with the music. I agree with the statement that the instruments used were very unique and in conjunction to their uncommon status the sounds that they produced creating an unheard of combination of sounds. I think that many people enjoyed the piece with the two dancers more because of their moves. They were very unified and the spinning moves along with the the movement of their left arms, creating just enough interest but did not overwhelm the audience as some of the other dance pieces did. I also agree with the statement that the music was very skillfully executed and meticulous in sound.