The late 1960s were a revolutionary time, and classical music was not exempt from the disruption. A small group of composers rebelled against the hyper-complex, emotionally barren atonal music then in vogue in favor of a much simpler style, which featured what sometimes seemed like endlessly repeating patterns.
The style came to be known as “minimalism,” and it arguably reached its high point with John Adams’s 1987 opera, Nixon in China. But the composers who created and nurtured it were Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich, who in 1971 wrote one of the first minimalist masterpieces, Drumming.
Today, the work — scored for piccolo and women’s voices, as well as an array of percussion instruments — is considered a classic. But it’s seldom heard live, due to the difficulty of assembling the forces necessary for a performance. Fortunately, the Music Academy of the West has such an ensemble, and percussionist Colin Currie will lead two performances of the piece in Hahn Hall on August 2.