Terry Riley Profiled and New York Shows Previewed

Source: The New York Times.

At 84, the musician and composer Terry Riley looks every bit the part of a synthesizer wizard. Visiting the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn last month from his Northern California ranch, his beard was a cascade of wispy white waves that tumbled onto his red scarf like an avant-garde Gandalf.

But “guru” isn’t just the vibe he radiates; Riley’s influence stretches farther afield than almost any other figure in 20th century classical music. His landmark composition, “In C,” first performed in 1964 by an ensemble including Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros and Morton Subotnick, helped put Minimalism on the musical map, though he now disdains that term.