Terry Riley

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the British deaf rights activist and broadcaster, see Terry Riley (broadcaster).
Not to be confused with Teddy Riley.
Terry Riley
tape machine, saxophone, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, tambura
Years active1950s–present
Formerly ofTheatre of Eternal Music
Websiteterryriley.net Edit this at Wikidata

Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician

tape music techniques, improvisation, and delay systems.[2] His best known works are the 1964 composition In C and the 1969 album A Rainbow in Curved Air, both considered landmarks of minimalism and important influences on experimental music, rock, and contemporary electronic music.[2] Subsequent works such as Shri Camel (1980) explored just intonation.[2]

Raised in Redding, California, Riley began studying

chamber ensemble the Kronos Quartet and his son, guitarist Gyan Riley.[2]

Life

Riley was born in

minimalist compositions using sustained tones were an influence; together, Young and Riley performed Riley's improvisatory composition Concert for Two Pianists and Tape Recorders in 1959–60.[4] Riley later became involved in the experimental San Francisco Tape Music Center, working with Morton Subotnick, Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros, and Ramon Sender. Throughout the 1960s he also traveled frequently in Europe, taking in musical influences and supporting himself by playing in piano bars. He also performed briefly with the Theatre of Eternal Music
in New York in 1965-1966.

His most influential teacher was

Mills College faculty to teach Indian classical music. Riley also cites John Cage and "the really great chamber music groups of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, and Gil Evans" as influences on his work.[5] He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music at Chapman University
in 2007.

Riley began his long-lasting association with the

David Harrington while at Mills. Over the course of his career, Riley composed 13 string quartets for the ensemble, in addition to other works. He wrote his first orchestral piece, Jade Palace, in 1991, and has continued to pursue that avenue, with several commissioned orchestral compositions following. He is also currently performing and teaching both as an Indian raga
vocalist and as a solo pianist.

Riley continues to perform live, and was part of the

All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2011.[6]

Riley at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, 1985

Techniques

Riley's music is usually based on improvising through a series of

different lengths. Works such as In C (1964) and the Keyboard Studies (1964–1966) demonstrate this technique. The first performance of In C was given by Steve Reich, Jon Gibson, Pauline Oliveros and Morton Subotnick. Its form was an innovation: The piece consists of 53 separate modules of roughly one measure apiece, each containing a different musical pattern but each, as the title implies, in the key of C.[7]
One performer beats a steady pulse of Cs on the piano to keep tempo. The others, in any number and on any instrument, perform these musical modules following a few loose guidelines, with the different musical modules interlocking in various ways as time goes on.

In the 1950s Riley was already working with

The Velvet Underground and Nico
, recorded in 1966.

Riley's famous overdubbed electronic album A Rainbow in Curved Air (recorded 1968, released 1969) inspired many later developments in electronic music. These include Pete Townshend's organ parts on The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley", the latter named in tribute to Riley as well as to Meher Baba.[11] Charles Hazlewood, in his BBC documentary on Minimalism (Part 1) suggests that the album 'Tubular Bells' by Mike Oldfield was also inspired by Riley's example.[12] The English progressive rock group Curved Air, formed in 1970, took its name from the album.

Riley performing in 2018

Riley's collaborators have included the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Pauline Oliveros, the ARTE Quartett, and, as mentioned, the Kronos Quartet. His 1995 Lisbon Concert recording features him in a solo piano format, improvising on his own works. In the liner notes Riley cites Art Tatum, Bud Powell and Bill Evans as his piano "heroes", illustrating the importance of jazz to his conceptions.

Personal life

He has three children: one daughter, Colleen,[13] and two sons, Gyan, who is a guitarist, and Shahn.[14] He was married to Ann Riley until her death in 2015.[15]

Discography

Filmography

  • 1970: Corridor. Film by Standish Lawder.
  • 1975: Lifespan. Film by Alexander Whitelaw feat. Klaus Kinski, Tina Aumont and Hiram Keller. Soundtrack released as Le secret de la vie in France, on Philips LP 9120 037 (1975).
  • 1976: Crossroads. Film by Bruce Conner.
  • 1976: Music with Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television. Tape 6: Terry Riley. Produced and directed by Robert Ashley. New York, New York: Lovely Music.
  • 1986: In Between the Notes...a Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath, Master Indian Musician. Produced by Other Minds, directed by William Farley.
  • 1995: Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy – Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and Terry Riley. Directed by Michael Blackwood.
  • 2008: "A Rainbow in Curved Air" features in the in-game soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV. It can be found when listening to the fictional radio station, "The Journey".
  • 2017: Hochelaga, Land of Souls. Film by François Girard.

References

  1. ^ Hooper, Greg (June–July 2006). "Hear and now: Terry Riley in Australia". RealTime (73). Australia: 33.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Ankeny, Jason. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  3. ^ Christman, Laura (June 19, 2013). "Back to his roots: Music pioneer Terry Riley returns for Redding concert". Redding Record Searchlight. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Young, La Monte. "Notes on The Theatre of Eternal Music and The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys" (PDF). MELA Foundation. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Like a Rainbow in Curved Air: Terry Riley". Bluefat.com.
  6. ^ "The 10 Best Moments Of All Tomorrow's Parties". Spin. 16 May 2011.
  7. ^ Honigmann, David. "In C, Barbican, London – review". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84520-219-4
    .
  9. ^ Smith, Geoff; Walker-Smith, Nicola; Ward, Phil (March 1993). "20th Century Americans - Terry Riley (MT Mar 1993)". Music Technology (Mar 1993): 78–84.
  10. ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6
    .
  11. ^ This album also produced the name of psychedelic band Curved Air. The Who (2002). The Who: The Ultimate Collection (Media notes). MCA Records. p. 12.
  12. ^ Hazlewood, Charles. "Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism". BBC Website. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  13. ^ Collins, Dan (November 19, 2009). "Terry Riley: Droning Dark Darkness". L.A. Record.
  14. ^ "Terry And Gyan Riley: Together IN C". Npr.org.
  15. ^ Hersh, Howard (10 January 1993). "A Composer on the Edge : Minimalist Terry Riley, on a journey of spiritual and artistic discovery, is deeply moved by the concept of artist-as-madman" – via LA Times.
  16. ^ O'Neal, Sean (12 August 2015). "Terry Riley turns an R&B ditty into 20 minutes of madness". Avclub.com. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  17. ^ "Terry Riley Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Shri Camel – Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  19. ^ "Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain – Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  20. ^ "The Harp of New Albion – Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  21. ^ "Terry Riley: Chanting the Light of Foresight – Rova Saxophone Quartet | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  22. ^ "Salome Dances for Peace – Kronos Quartet | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  23. ^ "Stefano Scodanibbio – Discography".
  24. ^ "Piano Music of John Adams & Terry Riley – Gloria Cheng | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  25. ^ "Atlantis Nath – Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  26. ^ "The Cusp of Magic – Kronos Quartet | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  27. ^ "Banana Humberto – Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  28. ^ "Terry Riley: The Last Camel in Paris – Terry Riley | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Terry Riley.
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