On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement

"Composer Philip Glass once slugged a hater off the stage. That’s how misunderstood minimalism was in the 1960s. Today the music, in its many forms, surrounds us in pop songs and TV ads and has persisted long enough to merit a historical documentation. These editors collected six decades of writing, providing a rich view of the music and its makers. There are essays by “founding fathers” Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Steve Reich, but more importantly, the book shines crucial light on lesser-known pioneers who guided minimalism’s evolution, from Americans Julius Eastman and Pauline Oliveros to Dutchman Louis Andriessen. Extraordinarily researched, On Minimalism satisfies both the nerd and the neophyte."