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{{Short description|American composer and performing musician (born 1935)}}
]
{{For|the British deaf rights activist and broadcaster|Terry Riley (broadcaster)}}
{{Distinguish|Teddy Riley}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Terry Riley
| image = Terry Riley, Tokyo 8 Nov 2017 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Riley in 2017
| birth_name = Terrence Mitchell Riley
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1935|6|24}}
| birth_place = ], US
| years_active = 1950s–present
| instruments = ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
| genre = ], ], ], ], ], ]
| past_member_of = ]
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}


'''Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley''' (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician<ref name="Hooper">{{cite journal|last=Hooper|first=Greg|date=June–July 2006|title=Hear and now: Terry Riley in Australia|journal=RealTime|location=Australia|issue=73|page=33|url=http://www.realtimearts.net/article/73/8136}}</ref> best known as a pioneer of the ] school of composition.<ref name="AllMusic"/> Influenced by ] and ], his work became notable for its innovative use of ], ] techniques, ], and ]s.<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last1=Ankeny|first1=Jason|title=Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/terry-riley-mn0000750519|website=]|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> His best known works are the 1964 composition '']'' and the 1969 album '']'', both considered landmarks of minimalism and important influences on ], ], and contemporary ].<ref name="AllMusic"/> Subsequent works such as '']'' (1980) explored ].<ref name="AllMusic"/>
'''Terry Riley''' (born ] ]) is an American composer associated with being one of the four leaders of the ] school.


Raised in Redding, California, Riley began studying ] and performing solo piano in the 1950s. He befriended and collaborated with composer ], and later became involved with both the ] and Young's New York collective, the ]. A three-record deal with ] in the late 1960s brought his work to wider audiences. In 1970, he began intensive studies under ] singer ], whom he often accompanied in performance. He has collaborated frequently throughout his career, most extensively with ] the ] and his son, guitarist ].<ref name="AllMusic"/>
== Life ==
Born in ], Riley studied at ], ], and the ] before earning an MA in composition at the ], studying with ]. His most influential teacher, however, was the late ], a master of Indian classical voice, who also taught ] and ]. Riley made numerous trips to India over the course of their association to study and to accompany him on ], ], and voice. Throughout the sixties he travelled frequently around Europe as well, taking in musical influences and supporting himself by playing in ]s, until he joined the ] faculty in 1971 to teach Indian classical music.


==Life==
Also during the sixties were the famous "All-Night Concerts", during which Riley performed mostly improvised music from evening until sunrise, using an old organ harmonium ("with a vacuum cleaner motor blower blowing into the ballasts") and tape-delayed saxophone. When he finally wanted a break, after hours of playing, he played back looped saxophone fragments recorded throughout the evening. For several years he continued to put on these concerts, to which people came with sleeping bags, hammocks, and their whole families.
Riley was born in ] on June 24, 1935,<ref name="AllMusic"/> and grew up in ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Christman |first1=Laura |title=Back to his roots: Music pioneer Terry Riley returns for Redding concert |url=https://archive.redding.com/news/back-to-his-roots-music-pioneer-terry-riley-returns-for-redding-concert-ep-299576668-353858821.html/ |website=] |access-date=September 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903215201/https://archive.redding.com/news/back-to-his-roots-music-pioneer-terry-riley-returns-for-redding-concert-ep-299576668-353858821.html/ |archive-date=September 3, 2023 |language=en |date=June 19, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1950s, he began performing as a solo pianist and studied composition at ], the ], and the ], studying with ] and ]. He befriended composer ], whose earliest ] 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=La Monte |title=Notes on The Theatre of Eternal Music and The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys |url=http://www.melafoundation.org/theatre.pdf |website=MELA Foundation |access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref> Riley later became involved in the experimental ], working with ], ], ], and ]. Throughout the 1960s, he also traveled frequently in Europe, taking in musical influences and supporting himself by playing in ]s. He also performed briefly with the ] in New York in 1965-1966.


His most influential teacher was ] (1918–1996), a master of Indian classical voice who also taught La Monte Young, ], and ]. Riley made numerous trips to India over the course of their association to study and accompany him on ], ], and voice. In 1971 he joined the ] faculty to teach Indian classical music. Riley also cites ] and "the really great ] groups of ] and ], ], ], and ]" as influences on his work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluefat.com/0912/Terry_Riley2.htm |title=Like a Rainbow in Curved Air: Terry Riley|website=Bluefat.com}}</ref> He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music at ] in 2007.
Riley began his long-lasting association with the ] by meeting its founder, ], while at Mills. Over the course of his career Riley has composed 13 ]s for it, in addition to a few 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. Riley is also currently performing and teaching both as an Indian ] vocalist and as a solo pianist.


Around 1980, Riley began his long-lasting association with the ] when he met their founder ] while at Mills. Throughout his career, Riley composed 13 ]s 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 ] vocalist and as a solo pianist.
== Musical style and techniques ==


Riley continues to perform live, and was part of the ] festival in May 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spin.com/2011/05/10-best-moments-all-tomorrows-parties/|title=The 10 Best Moments Of All Tomorrow's Parties|newspaper=Spin |date=16 May 2011}}</ref>
While his early endeavours were influenced by ], Riley changed direction after first encountering ], whose ] he later performed in from 1965-66. Riley has referred to Young as "the freakiest guy I have ever met in my life," stating that it was Young's ideas that were at the heart of minimalism, though more composers have come to name Riley himself as an influence. The String Quartet (1960) was Riley's first work in this new style; it was followed shortly after by a string trio, in which he first latched on to the repetitive short phrases that he (and minimalism) are now known for.
], San Francisco, 1985]]


==Techniques==
His music is usually based on improvising through a series of ] figures of ], such as in ''In C'' and the ''Keyboard Studies''. '']'' (1964) is probably Riley's best-known work and one that brought the minimalistic music movement to prominence. Its first performance was given by ], ], ], and ], among others, and it has influenced their work and that of many others, including ] and ]. 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 C. One performer beats a steady stream of ''C''s 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. The ''Keyboard Studies'' are similarly structured &ndash; a single-performer version of the same concept.
Riley's music is usually based on improvising through a series of ] figures of ]. Works such as '']'' (1964) and the ''Keyboard Studies'' (1964–1966) demonstrate this technique. The first performance of ''In C'' was given by ], ], ] and ]. 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Honigmann|first1=David|title=In C, Barbican, London – review|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/8959b73a-2f30-11e3-ae87-00144feab7de.html |newspaper=]|access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref> One performer beats a steady pulse of ''C''s 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 ]s, a technology still in its infancy at the time; he would later, with the help of a sound engineer, create what he called a "time-lag accumulator".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A History of Video Art|last=Meigh-Andrews|first=Chris|publisher=Berg (Oxford International Publishers)|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84520-219-4|location=New York, NY and Oxford, UK|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofvideoar0000meig/page/94}}</ref> He has continued manipulating tapes to musical effect, in the studio and in live performances throughout his career. An early tape loop piece titled ''Music for the Gift'' (1963) featured the trumpet playing of ]. It was during Riley's time in Paris, while composing this piece, that he conceived of and created the time-lag accumulator technique.<ref name=":0" /> Premiered in 1968 in the Magic Theatre Exhibition at the Nelson Atkins Gallery in ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Geoff |last2=Walker-Smith |first2=Nicola |last3=Ward |first3=Phil |date=March 1993 |title=20th Century Americans - Terry Riley (MT Mar 1993) |url=http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/20th-century-americans-terry-riley/2458 |journal=Music Technology |issue=Mar 1993 |pages=78–84}}</ref> a new version of the installation was commissioned three decades later by ]-] and purchased by the ]. A third version was built and presented by the Schauspielhaus in ] in 2019. He has composed using ] as well as ].<ref name="holmes" >Holmes, Thomas B. ''Electronic and Experimental Music'', Taylor & Francis (2008). pp. 132, 362. {{ISBN|978-0-415-95781-6}}.</ref> In New York City in the mid-1960s he played with his longtime friend La Monte Young, as well as with ] and tabla player ], who were founding members of ]. Riley is credited as inspiring Cale's keyboard part on ]'s composition "]", which was sung by German actress ] and included on the album '']'', recorded in 1966.
This format, with a collection of minimal musical elements coming together to form a complex and cohesive whole, launched a movement that was a step away from the increasing academicism in western classical music. The complex formal structures of the ] and the ] had dominated the classical musical landscape throughout the middle of the 20th century; the minimalistic movement abandoned that formalism. Riley often further denied strict structure by introducing improvisational elements into his compositions (though he had long been improvising in solo performance); one of the primary pieces to use this approach was his ''A Rainbow In Curved Air'' (1968). This work and ''Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band'', its companion piece on a recording issued in 1969, were intended to give a necessarily truncated impression of the sound of Riley's all-night concerts.


Riley's famous overdubbed electronic album '']'' (recorded 1968, released 1969) inspired many later developments in electronic music. These include ]'s ] parts on ]'s "]" and "]", the latter named in tribute to Riley as well as to ].<ref>This album also produced the name of psychedelic band ].
For a time Riley stopped notating his works at all, focusing on Indian classical music and solo performance. Working with the Kronos Quartet has led him back to more structured, notatable music, but improvisatory elements remain an important part even of the works composed for them.
{{cite AV media notes
|title = The Who: The Ultimate Collection
|title-link = The Ultimate_Collection (The_Who_album)
|author = The Who
|year = 2002
|pages = 12
|publisher = MCA Records
}}</ref> ], in his BBC documentary on Minimalism (Part 1) suggests that the album ']' by ] was also inspired by Riley's example.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hazlewood|first1=Charles|title=Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09tbh10/tones-drones-and-arpeggios-the-magic-of-minimalism-series-1-1-california|website=BBC Website|access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> The English progressive rock group Curved Air, formed in 1970, took its name from the album.


]
Being on the leading edge of music was nothing new for Riley. Already in the 1950s he was working with ]s, a technology then in its infancy, and he has continued manipulating tapes to musical effect, both in the studio and in live performance, throughout his career. He has composed in ] as well as ] pieces.


Collaborators of Riley's include the ] Saxophone Quartet, ], and, as mentioned, the ], as well as ], a playwright with whom he has written music and collaborated on an album. Riley's collaborators have included the ], ], the ], 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 ], ] and ] as his piano "heroes", illustrating the importance of jazz to his conceptions.


==Personal life==
''A Rainbow In Curved Air'' inspired ]'s ] parts on ]'s "]" and "]", the latter apparently named in tribute to Riley as well as to ].
He has three children: one daughter, Colleen,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://larecord.com/interviews/2009/11/19/terry-riley-interview-droning-dark-darkness |title=Terry Riley: Droning Dark Darkness |publisher=] |date=November 19, 2009|first=Dan|last=Collins}}</ref> and two sons, ], who is a guitarist, and Shahn.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2009/05/12/104061137/terry-and-gyan-riley-together-in-c|title=Terry And Gyan Riley: Together IN C|website=Npr.org}}</ref> He was married to Ann Riley until her death in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-10-ca-1353-story.html|title=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|first=Howard|last=Hersh|date=10 January 1993|via=LA Times}}</ref>


==Discography==
== Notable works ==
* 1963: ''Music for The Gift'' (Organ of Corti 1, 1963)
* '']''
* 1965: ''Reed Streams'', Mass Art Inc. M-131
* '']'' (1986), for piano tuned in just intonation
* 1967: ''You're No Good'', recorded in 1967 but unreleased until 2000<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Neal|first1=Sean|title=Terry Riley turns an R&B ditty into 20 minutes of madness|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/terry-riley-turns-rb-ditty-20-minutes-madness-223628|website=Avclub.com|date=12 August 2015 |access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref> (Cortical Foundation / Organ of Corti, 2000)<ref>{{cite web|title=Terry Riley Discography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/terry-riley-mn0000750519/discography|website=AllMusic|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref>
* '']''
* 1968: ''Germ'', with ] & Martine Joste (Spalax CD 14542, 1998). Includes a ] track.
* '']'' (1980), for solo electronic organ tuned in just intonation and modified by computerized digital delay
* '']'' * 1968: '']'', Columbia MS7178
* 1969: '']'', CBS 64564
* '']'', with ] in just intonation
* 1971: '']'', with ] (CBS)
* '']''
* 1972: ''Happy Ending'' (soundtrack to ]'s film {{lang|fr|Les Yeux Fermés}}), Warner Bros. Records France 46125; {{lang|fr|Les Yeux Fermés}} & Lifespan, for solo electric organ; two soundtracks (2007 reissue)
* '']'' for the ]
* '']'', with ] * 1972: '']'', Shanti 83502
* 1975: {{lang|fr|Le Secret de la Vie}} (''Lifespan'' film soundtrack), Philips France 9120 037
* 1975: ''Descending Moonshine Dervishes'', Kuckuck Records
* 1980: '']'', CBS Masterworks M3519, for solo electronic organ tuned in just intonation and modified by digital delay<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/shri-camel-mw0000897951|title=Shri Camel – Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1983: ''Songs for the Ten Voices of the Two Prophets'', for two Prophet 5 synthesisers, Kuckuck Records
* 1984: '']'', a collaboration with the ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/terry-riley-cadenza-on-the-night-plain-mw0000634232|title=Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain – Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1984: ''Terry Riley and Krishna Bhatt: Terry Riley and Krishna Bhatt Duo'', a collaboration with ]
* 1985: ''No Man's Land''
* 1986: ''The Harp of New Albion'', for piano tuned in ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-harp-of-new-albion-mw0000086815|title=The Harp of New Albion – Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1987: '']'', with ] in just intonation<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/terry-riley-chanting-the-light-of-foresight-mw0001812715|title=Terry Riley: Chanting the Light of Foresight – Rova Saxophone Quartet &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1989: '']'', for the Kronos Quartet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/salome-dances-for-peace-mw0000680041|title=Salome Dances for Peace – Kronos Quartet &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1995: ''In C – 25th Anniversary Concert'', version featuring Riley as one of four vocalists, recorded live January 14, 1990, San Francisco, New Albion Records
* 1995: ''Lisbon Concert'', solo piano concert, recorded live July 16, 1995 Festival dos Capuchos, Teatro São Luis, Lisbon, Portugal., New Albion Records
* 1997: '']'', experimental album recorded with contrabassist ].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.stefanoscodanibbio.com/discography/13.htm |title = Stefano Scodanibbio – Discography}}</ref>
* 1998: Piano Music of John Adams and Terry Riley, performed by ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/piano-music-of-john-adams-terry-riley-mw0001939606|title=Piano Music of John Adams & Terry Riley – Gloria Cheng &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 1999: The Book of Abbeyozzud
* 2001: ''] Solo Piano Concert'', recording of a live performance on 18 April 2000
* 2001: '']'', with Riley's tribute to the son of ] performed by the Kronos quartet, and a solo piano improvisation by Riley
* 2002: ''Atlantis Nath'', hand-numbered signed edition of 1000 copies<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/atlantis-nath-mw0000979895|title=Atlantis Nath – Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 2003: ''Cantos Desiertos'' (Naxos)
* 2004: ''I Like Your Eyes Liberty'', duets with Terry Riley, piano and ], poetry (Sri Moonshine Music)
* 2004: '']'', with the ], composed for his seventieth birthday, an ode to the rite of ] Eve<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-cusp-of-magic-mw0000583160|title=The Cusp of Magic – Kronos Quartet &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 2005: ''Diamond Fiddle Language'' duets with Stefano Scodanibbio, bass (])
* 2005: ''Assassin Reverie'', Arte Quartett, saxophone qt. (])
* 2008: ''Banana Humberto'', piano concerto with ] Ensemble<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/banana-humberto-mw0002109093|title=Banana Humberto – Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 2008: ''The Last Camel in Paris'', live solo electric organ performance in Paris, 1978<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/terry-riley-the-last-camel-in-paris-mw0001861476|title=Terry Riley: The Last Camel in Paris – Terry Riley &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic}}</ref>
* 2010: ''Two Early Works'', the first-ever recordings of two of Riley's early compositions, performed by the Calder Quartet
* 2010: ''Autodreamographical Tales'' (])
* 2011: ''Keyboard Studies Nos. 1 and 2 / Tread on the Trail'' (])
* 2012: ''Aleph'' (])
* 2015: ''ZOFO Plays Terry Riley'', ZOFO piano duo (Sono Luminus)
* 2015: ''One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley'', Kronos Quartet (])
* 2015: ''Music Of Terry Riley – Sunrise Of The Planetary Dream Collector'', Kronos Quartet (])
* 2019: ''Sun Rings'', Kronos Quartet (])
* 2019: ''The Lion's Throne'', with singer Amelia Cuni, recorded live (Sri Moonshine Music, SMM008)
* 2019: ''Archangels'', with conductor Julian Wachner, Trinity Choir, Novus Cellos (National Sawdust Tracks)
* 2021: ''Zephyr'', Francesco D'Orazio, violin
* 2022: ''Autodreamographical Tales'', transcriptions and arrangements for the Bang on a Can All-Stars (])
* 2022: ''Keyboard Studies'', ] (])
* 2022: ''Organum for Stefano'', Terry Riley pipe organ, voice. Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna, Italy, May 7, 2013. (i dischi di angelica)
* 2022: ''The Sands'', James Feddeck, Cleveland Orchestra (CMA Recorded Archive Editions)
* 2023: ''Standard(S)and: Kobuchizawa Sessions #1'' (Star/Rainbow Records)


==Filmography==
==Notable students==
* 1970: ''Corridor''. Film by ].
*]
* 1975: ]. 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: ]. Film by ].
* 1976: ''Music with Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television''. Tape 6: Terry Riley. Produced and directed by ]. New York, New York: Lovely Music.
* 1986: ''In Between the Notes...a Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath, Master Indian Musician''. Produced by ], directed by ].
* 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 '']''. It can be found when listening to the fictional radio station, "The Journey".
* 2017: '']''. Film by François Girard.


== See also == ==References==
{{Reflist}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==Further reading==
== External links ==
* (2002). Album notes for ''The Who: The Ultimate Collection by The Who'', 12. MCA Records.
*
* ]. 2009. ''Terry Riley's in C''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-532528-7}}
*
* ] (1995). ''Talking Music''. New York: Schirmer Books. {{ISBN|0-02-870823-7}}
*
* Gagne, Cole (1993). ''Soundpieces 2: Interviews with American Composers''. Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0-8108-2710-7}}
*
* Meigh-Andrews, Chris, 2006. ''A History of Video Art''.
*
* Potter, Keith (2000). ''Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass''. Music in the Twentieth Century series. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
* featuring tracks from ''The Book of Abbeyozzud'' and ''The Light of Foresight'' (with ])
* Strickland, Edward. "Terry Riley". ] Online ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}).
* ''In C'' (1964)
*


==External links==
== References ==
{{Toomanylinks|section|date=February 2023}}
*Edward Strickland, "Terry Riley". ] Online .
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
*
* {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p3049}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Riley%2C_Terry|cname=Terry Riley|license=cc}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* (audio and video)
* Davidson, Robert. "." 1999.
* , Riley's management and CD label
* , featuring the Kronos Quartet .
* featuring tracks from ''The Book of Abbeyozzud'' and ''The Light of Foresight'' (with ])
* ''In C'' (1964)
* Golden, Barbara. "Conversation with Terry Riley." (April 2010). Montréal: ].
* Leopizzi, Marco. "" ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304124757/http://www.musicaround.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:-terry-riley-il-guru-del-minimalismo-intervista-&catid=40:interviste&Itemid=56 |date=2012-03-04 }}). Interview from 1 June 2008. Musicaround.net. {{in lang|it}}
* {{NewMusicBox|id=terry-riley-obsessed-and-passionate-about-all-music|title=Obsessed and Passionate About All Music|composer=Terry Riley|author=]|conducted=16 February 2001|published=1 June 2001}} (Includes video.)
* .
* {{YouTube|5PNbEfLIEDs|Terry Riley – "A Rainbow in Curved Air" (18:47)}}


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Latest revision as of 08:34, 3 December 2024

American composer and performing musician (born 1935) For the British deaf rights activist and broadcaster, see Terry Riley (broadcaster). Not to be confused with Teddy Riley.
Terry Riley
Riley in 2017Riley in 2017
Background information
Birth nameTerrence Mitchell Riley
Born (1935-06-24) June 24, 1935 (age 89)
Colfax, California, US
GenresMinimalism, avant-garde, tape, electronic, microtonal, classical
InstrumentsElectric organ, tape machine, saxophone, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, tambura
Years active1950s–present
Formerly ofTheatre of Eternal Music
Websiteterryriley.net Edit this at Wikidata
Musical artist

Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notable for its innovative use of repetition, tape music techniques, improvisation, and delay systems. 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. Subsequent works such as Shri Camel (1980) explored just intonation.

Raised in Redding, California, Riley began studying composition and performing solo piano in the 1950s. He befriended and collaborated with composer La Monte Young, and later became involved with both the San Francisco Tape Music Center and Young's New York collective, the Theatre of Eternal Music. A three-record deal with CBS in the late 1960s brought his work to wider audiences. In 1970, he began intensive studies under Hindustani singer Pandit Pran Nath, whom he often accompanied in performance. He has collaborated frequently throughout his career, most extensively with chamber ensemble the Kronos Quartet and his son, guitarist Gyan Riley.

Life

Riley was born in Colfax, California on June 24, 1935, and grew up in Redding, California. In the 1950s, he began performing as a solo pianist and studied composition at San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Conservatory, and the University of California, Berkeley, studying with Seymour Shifrin and Robert Erickson. He befriended composer La Monte Young, whose earliest 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. 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 Pandit Pran Nath (1918–1996), a master of Indian classical voice who also taught La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela, and Michael Harrison. Riley made numerous trips to India over the course of their association to study and accompany him on tabla, tambura, and voice. In 1971 he joined the 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. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music at Chapman University in 2007.

Around 1980, Riley began his long-lasting association with the Kronos Quartet when he met their founder David Harrington while at Mills. Throughout 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.

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

Techniques

Riley's music is usually based on improvising through a series of modal figures 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. 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 tape loops, a technology still in its infancy at the time; he would later, with the help of a sound engineer, create what he called a "time-lag accumulator". He has continued manipulating tapes to musical effect, in the studio and in live performances throughout his career. An early tape loop piece titled Music for the Gift (1963) featured the trumpet playing of Chet Baker. It was during Riley's time in Paris, while composing this piece, that he conceived of and created the time-lag accumulator technique. Premiered in 1968 in the Magic Theatre Exhibition at the Nelson Atkins Gallery in Kansas City, a new version of the installation was commissioned three decades later by Lille 2004-European Capital of Culture and purchased by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Lyon. A third version was built and presented by the Schauspielhaus in Bochum in 2019. He has composed using just intonation as well as microtones. In New York City in the mid-1960s he played with his longtime friend La Monte Young, as well as with John Cale and tabla player Angus MacLise, who were founding members of The Velvet Underground. Riley is credited as inspiring Cale's keyboard part on Lou Reed's composition "All Tomorrow's Parties", which was sung by German actress Nico and included on the album 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. 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. 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, and two sons, Gyan, who is a guitarist, and Shahn. He was married to Ann Riley until her death in 2015.

Discography

  • 1963: Music for The Gift (Organ of Corti 1, 1963)
  • 1965: Reed Streams, Mass Art Inc. M-131
  • 1967: You're No Good, recorded in 1967 but unreleased until 2000 (Cortical Foundation / Organ of Corti, 2000)
  • 1968: Germ, with Gérard Frémy & Martine Joste (Spalax CD 14542, 1998). Includes a Pierre Mariétan track.
  • 1968: In C, Columbia MS7178
  • 1969: A Rainbow in Curved Air, CBS 64564
  • 1971: Church of Anthrax, with John Cale (CBS)
  • 1972: Happy Ending (soundtrack to Joël Santoni's film Les Yeux Fermés), Warner Bros. Records France 46125; Les Yeux Fermés & Lifespan, for solo electric organ; two soundtracks (2007 reissue)
  • 1972: Persian Surgery Dervishes, Shanti 83502
  • 1975: Le Secret de la Vie (Lifespan film soundtrack), Philips France 9120 037
  • 1975: Descending Moonshine Dervishes, Kuckuck Records
  • 1980: Shri Camel, CBS Masterworks M3519, for solo electronic organ tuned in just intonation and modified by digital delay
  • 1983: Songs for the Ten Voices of the Two Prophets, for two Prophet 5 synthesisers, Kuckuck Records
  • 1984: Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night Plain, a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet
  • 1984: Terry Riley and Krishna Bhatt: Terry Riley and Krishna Bhatt Duo, a collaboration with Krishna Bhatt
  • 1985: No Man's Land
  • 1986: The Harp of New Albion, for piano tuned in just intonation
  • 1987: Chanting the Light of Foresight, with Rova Saxophone Quartet in just intonation
  • 1989: Salome Dances for Peace, for the Kronos Quartet
  • 1995: In C – 25th Anniversary Concert, version featuring Riley as one of four vocalists, recorded live January 14, 1990, San Francisco, New Albion Records
  • 1995: Lisbon Concert, solo piano concert, recorded live July 16, 1995 Festival dos Capuchos, Teatro São Luis, Lisbon, Portugal., New Albion Records
  • 1997: Lazy Afternoon Among the Crocodiles, experimental album recorded with contrabassist Stefano Scodanibbio.
  • 1998: Piano Music of John Adams and Terry Riley, performed by Gloria Cheng
  • 1999: The Book of Abbeyozzud
  • 2001: Moscow Conservatory Solo Piano Concert, recording of a live performance on 18 April 2000
  • 2001: Terry Riley: Requiem for Adam, with Riley's tribute to the son of David Harrington performed by the Kronos quartet, and a solo piano improvisation by Riley
  • 2002: Atlantis Nath, hand-numbered signed edition of 1000 copies
  • 2003: Cantos Desiertos (Naxos)
  • 2004: I Like Your Eyes Liberty, duets with Terry Riley, piano and Michael McClure, poetry (Sri Moonshine Music)
  • 2004: The Cusp of Magic, with the Kronos Quartet, composed for his seventieth birthday, an ode to the rite of Midsummer Eve
  • 2005: Diamond Fiddle Language duets with Stefano Scodanibbio, bass (Wergo)
  • 2005: Assassin Reverie, Arte Quartett, saxophone qt. (New World Records)
  • 2008: Banana Humberto, piano concerto with Paul Dresher Ensemble
  • 2008: The Last Camel in Paris, live solo electric organ performance in Paris, 1978
  • 2010: Two Early Works, the first-ever recordings of two of Riley's early compositions, performed by the Calder Quartet
  • 2010: Autodreamographical Tales (Tzadik Records)
  • 2011: Keyboard Studies Nos. 1 and 2 / Tread on the Trail (Stradivarius)
  • 2012: Aleph (Tzadik Records)
  • 2015: ZOFO Plays Terry Riley, ZOFO piano duo (Sono Luminus)
  • 2015: One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley, Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch Records)
  • 2015: Music Of Terry Riley – Sunrise Of The Planetary Dream Collector, Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch Records)
  • 2019: Sun Rings, Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch)
  • 2019: The Lion's Throne, with singer Amelia Cuni, recorded live (Sri Moonshine Music, SMM008)
  • 2019: Archangels, with conductor Julian Wachner, Trinity Choir, Novus Cellos (National Sawdust Tracks)
  • 2021: Zephyr, Francesco D'Orazio, violin
  • 2022: Autodreamographical Tales, transcriptions and arrangements for the Bang on a Can All-Stars (Cantaloupe Music)
  • 2022: Keyboard Studies, John Tilbury (Another Timbre)
  • 2022: Organum for Stefano, Terry Riley pipe organ, voice. Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna, Italy, May 7, 2013. (i dischi di angelica)
  • 2022: The Sands, James Feddeck, Cleveland Orchestra (CMA Recorded Archive Editions)
  • 2023: Standard(S)and: Kobuchizawa Sessions #1 (Star/Rainbow Records)

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. ^ 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. ^ Meigh-Andrews, Chris (2006). A History of Video Art. New York, NY and Oxford, UK: Berg (Oxford International Publishers). pp. 94–95. 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. Holmes, Thomas B. Electronic and Experimental Music, Taylor & Francis (2008). pp. 132, 362. 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

  • (2002). Album notes for The Who: The Ultimate Collection by The Who, 12. MCA Records.
  • Carl, Robert. 2009. Terry Riley's in C. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532528-7
  • Duckworth, William (1995). Talking Music. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-870823-7
  • Gagne, Cole (1993). Soundpieces 2: Interviews with American Composers. Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2710-7
  • Meigh-Andrews, Chris, 2006. A History of Video Art.
  • Potter, Keith (2000). Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass. Music in the Twentieth Century series. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Strickland, Edward. "Terry Riley". Grove Music Online (subscription access) (Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine).

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