Terry Riley (USA)

Born in California, he is one of the founders of the minimalist movement, an innovative approach to music that has had a lasting impact on many forms of contemporary sound art. His career has been marked by the exploration of new sounds, compositional techniques, and musical forms that have influenced 20th-century music. Riley began his musical training as a clarinetist, studying at the University of California, Berkeley. During this period, he was heavily influenced by various musical styles, including jazz and Indian classical music. Riley is primarily known for his contribution to minimalism, a movement that developed in the United States in the 1960s alongside other composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and La Monte Young. His most famous composition, In C (1964), for ensemble utilizes an unlimited number of instruments, featuring a series of 53 musical fragments that are repeated a variable number of times. The effect of this repetition is a continuously evolving sonic flow that creates a sense of trance and temporal expansion. There is no definitive version of the piece, as each performance depends on the choices made by the performers. In 1966, Riley traveled to India, where he studied with sitar master Alla Rakha. This encounter had a crucial influence on his musical style, particularly in adopting repetition and cyclic structures, which are characteristic features of Indian classical music. One of the most well-known results of this influence is A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969), a work that combines electronic music elements with acoustic sounds and had a significant impact on experimental music of the 1960s and 1970s. The use of synthesizers in this piece was particularly innovative for its time and marks one of the earliest notable examples of minimalist electronic music. Throughout his career, Terry Riley collaborated with numerous artists and musical groups, exploring and expanding his musical influences. He worked with the Kronos Quartet, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and trumpeter Don Cherry. Additionally, Riley developed a series of solo works that explore the possibilities of electronic music, such as his collaboration with musician and producer Brian Eno on the album The Tuning of the World. In subsequent years, Riley continued composing for a variety of musical ensembles, from orchestras to smaller groups, and expanded his style by incorporating elements of jazz, rock, and folk music. His artistic research extended beyond conventional music, also exploring dance, theater, and sound installations.