New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will be reading from his new book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century, at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, tomorrow. In advance of the reading, he spoke with Washington Post's Express about the state of classical music, and offered readers some Top Five lists on the subject. Number one on his list of contemporary classical works pop listeners might like: Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians.
New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will be reading from his new book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century, at the famed Washington, DC, bookstore Politics & Prose tomorrow night. In advance of the reading, he spoke with Express, the free Washington Post daily, about the state of classical music, and offered readers some Top Five lists on the subject. Number one on his list of contemporary classical works pop listeners might like: Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians.
"As Reich was preparing to write his sleekly beautiful minimalist masterpiece," Ross tells Express, "he was listening to everything from West African drumming to Coltrane's 'Africa' to Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues.' Pop musicians and listeners from Brian Eno and David Bowie forward have fallen under Reich's spell."
Listen to clips from Music for 18 Musicians here.
Read more of Alex Ross's Top Fives at readexpress.com.
