Fans of minimalist music should take note of a concert series being held in Los Angeles the second half of March, 2006. The Minimalist Jukebox
presents an opportunity to hear music of The Orb, Terry Riley, Steve
Reich, Phillip Glass, Glenn Branca, John Adams and others in the
stunning Frank Gehry Walt Disney Concert Hall.

According to festival director John Adams, “Our
Minimalist Jukebox festival is the first of its kind to be mounted by a
major American orchestra. It has escaped no one’s attention that
celebrating Minimalism in the context of a symphony orchestra is
admittedly a problematic fit. Most of the best Minimalist music is not
scored for conventional orchestra.”

“But the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
being an orchestra that is not only a hundred-piece ensemble but also
an amalgam of distinct, highly talented performers, found many ways to
make a successful survey of this magnitude. Part of the pleasure in
assembling the programs was in understanding how vast the influence of
this aesthetic has been. Whether it’s the mesmerizing throb of Glenn
Branca’s electric guitar symphonies, the Gaia joy of Meredith Monk’s
choral works, the Nordic purity of Arvo Pärt, the
Stravinsky-meets-gamelan boogies of Andriessen’s De Staat, or
the industrial strength microtuning of Michael Gordon, we feel we have
put together a statement that says much about a profound and
irrevocable change in the history of Western music.”

Information on performances is available at the WDCH site.