REICH MAKING THE MOST OUT OF MINIMALISM : THE FACTS.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Staff Writer

Steve Reich has always marched to the beat of his own drummer, er, drummers.

When studying music in the late '50s and early '60s, Reich was unhappy with the direction that classical music had taken. There was ``no rhythm, no tunes to whistle.''

``This is not why I became a composer,'' he said; so Reich, along with some other young Turks, took a roll-over-Arnold-Schoenberg approach.

They embarked on a musical movement known as minimalism. Originally the term was coined to describe the ``interlocking repeating patterns'' that formed the basis for early compositions by Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley among others. At first much of the ``classical music community thought this was nonsense,'' Reich said.

But at 60, Reich is now a respected figure in the classical world, although there are some critics who still scoff at minimalism.

Nevertheless, his music has been performed and recorded by numerous major orchestras, including the New York and L.A. philharmonics. A number of his albums have sold more than 100,000 copies, nothing for Alanis Morissette to get excited about but not bad for a classical composer. His 1988 piece ``Different Trains'' was widely praised and won a Grammy for him in 1990 for Best Contemporary Composition when it was recorded by the Kronos Quartet. And it's easy to hear Reich's influence in the pop world, even including, he has reported, being sampled by a British band on a dance record. In March of next year, Nonesuch is releasing a 10-CD retrospective.

But the term minimalism belies Reich's sophisticated and complex compositions. While still essentially being true to those interlocking, repeating patterns, the composer wants the listener ``to enjoy the music.'' ``That's the important thing,'' he said in the rapid rhythm of New York City, from which he was speaking.

What has helped listeners enjoy his music is the amazing and diverse number of musical styles Reich has drawn upon. In 1970, he went to Ghana to study African drumming, which resulted in one of his best-known works, ``Drumming'' (1971) ``Parts 1 & 2,'' of which will be part of his Thursday night program at UCLA's Veterans Wadsworth Theater.

The program will include Los Angeles premieres of ``Proverb'' (1995), a composition for voices, electric organs and vibraphones; and ``Nagoya Marimbas'' (1994), a percussion work for marimbas; both of which are on Reich's latest CD, ``City Life'' (Nonesuch). Reich won't be on stage during all of the program.

``I enjoy performing, but when I write myself out of the piece, I work the mixing board.''

Reared on Shubert and Beethoven, Reich also has studied Balinese gamelan and the traditional form of cantillation (chanting of Hebrew Scripture) along the way.

The later can be seen in his 1981 release ``Tehillim,'' which used four excerpts from Psalms. It is a work that one critic calls ``exotically ritualistic'' and another says carries ``a wonderful sense of celebration and emotional release.''

For Reich, it also mirrors his return to his Jewish roots, which began in his mid-30s. ``By pursuing non-Western interests,'' he said, ``it threw me back into myself.''

Originally interested in Eastern religion, Reich has returned to Judaism, praying each morning with a little meditation thrown in. He takes great pains to observe the Sabbath, which - because it begins at sundown Friday - is ``sometimes difficult for a professional musician.''

But Reich looks forward each week to the ``restorative'' powers of the Sabbath the same way he looks forward to leaving the city (he wears earplugs when he walks the streets of New York) and returning to Vermont, where he lives with his wife, Beryl Korot, the video artist with whom he has collaborated in ``The Cave.''

But now Reich is out recording new versions of old works for the retrospective and promoting his new ones. The text for ``Proverb'' is a line from the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: ``How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life.'' In a way it is much like Reich's career, which has taken those small ``interlocking patterns'' and made so much more of them.

Next up for Reich is a piece that examines the role of technology in the world. ``The Hindenburg,'' the first part of ``Three Tales,'' which he is working on with his wife, is due to premiere in June 1997 at Bonn Opera in Germany. The three-act work (``Bikini'' and ``Challenger'' are the other two) is supposed to be ready for the millennium.

Considering his use of technology in his works and his concerns for the Earth, it was interesting to see where Reich came down on this question.

At first he mentions what an acquaintance said: how he likes to get the latest computer and likes to chop wood to heat his house. But then he turns to something that sounds more Reich.

``In the first chapter of Genesis,'' he said, ``when man is created, he is given by God dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air ... and over all the earth. Then there is sort of a retake in chapter two. Man is created out of dust ... and put into Eden to tend the garden.''

That, like Reich's music, is something to think about.

What: Steve Reich & Musicians with Theatre of Voices.

Where: Veterans Wadsworth Theater, 226 Eisenhower Drive, Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday. A CenterStage with Reich and Theatre of Voices director Paul Hiller precedes the concert at 7 p.m.

Tickets: $27 and $30; $9 for UCLA students with ID; call [phone] for information. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Steve Reich's concert on Thursday includes two Los Angeles premieres.