Talking Music

Talking Music is comprised of substantial original conversations with seventeen American experimental composers and musicians -- including Milton Babbitt, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and John Zorn -- many of whom rarely grant interviews. The author skillfully elicits candid dialogues that encompass technical explorations; questions of method, style, and influence; their personal lives and struggles to create; and their aesthetic goals and artistic declarations. Herein, John Cage recalls the turning point in his career; Ben Johnston criticizes the operas of his teacher Harry Partch; La Monte Young attributes his creative discipline to a Mormon childhood; Steve Reich explains how his reharmonizations relate to Debussy; and much more. The results are revelatory conversations with some of America's most radical musical innovators.