Front Row

Philip Glass, Steve Reich and John Adams are America's greatest living composers. Between them, they have helped change the way music is made and heard, repeating rhythms, highlighting melodies and overlapping time signatures to create new musical languages that are widely heard in the looped and sampled soundtrack to the 21st century. As they reach milestone birthdays, they talk to John Wilson about their work, and about the musical movement that links the three of them - Minimalism.Playlist:Philip Glass - Closing Steve Reich - Clapping John Adams - Phrygian Gates Bartok - Concerto For Two Pianos, Percussion and Orchestra, 3rd movt Stravinsky - Rite of Spring Bach Brandenburg 5 Charlie Parker - Be Bop Tchaikovsky's - 1812 Overture Bozo the Clown Philip Glass - Dance 8 Steve Reich - Livelihood John Adams - On the Transmigration of Souls Steve Reich - Different Trains Philip Glass - Floe Philip Glass - Facades Steve Reich - Clapping Steve Reich - Piano Phase Steve Reich - Drumming Steve Reich - C