Talking Music - Conversations With John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, And 5 Generations Of American Experimental Composers (Paperback, 1st Da Capo Press ed)

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.