Minimal Music Festival Terry Riley 90th Birthday Celebration at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Amsterdam
An underground, homegrown minimalism night.
There are musical works that you simply must hear live in your lifetime, and tonight, we have not one, but two such classics on the programme. Terry Riley is a minimal music icon whose idiosyncratic blend of improvisation, electronica and drone music has had a massive influence on the music of our time. Riley recently turned ninety, and we are celebrating this with his ground-breaking masterpieces, In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air. The New York-based Bang on a Can All-Stars are the dream performers for this occasion. In 1964, Terry Riley jotted down some fifty mini-fragments on a single A4 sheet of paper: this was the score for the pioneering In C. Because of the interpretive freedom given to the musicians, no two renditions of the piece are exactly alike. Five years later, Riley struck gold again with A Rainbow in Curved Air: an album of improvisations and tape loops drawing from jazz and Indian music, which would go on to influence generations of ambient, fusion and electronic musicians. Tonight’s arrangement comes courtesy of Riley’s son, Gyan.
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Who is performing at the festival?+
The Bang on a Can All-Stars are the headline performers.
Which Terry Riley pieces will be played?+
The programme includes his masterpieces In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air.
Where is the event being held?+
It is held at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam.
When does the celebration take place?+
The event is scheduled for April 17, 2026.
Is there a specific occasion for this concert?+
Yes, it is a special celebration for Terry Riley's 90th birthday.
