There could hardly be a stronger indicator of minimalism's international impact than this release. It is by a pianist who is not American at all (
Shani Diluka
is Sri Lankan-Monegasque), and it proposes an entirely fresh look at the tradition.
Diluka
's program has a backbone of minimalist classics by
John Adams
,
Terry Riley
Philip Glass
, and the closely related
Meredith Monk
. However, from there, the music radiates outward to jazz (the arresting
Bill Evans
version of
Danny Boy
), sparse experimental classical music (a pair of pieces by
Moondog
, an underrated influence on the minimalist tradition, and
Julius Eastman
), techno (
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
of
Daft Punk
), and even traditional tunes. Some of the equations
proposes have been offered before, but her range is probably unique, and the program is sequenced in such a way as to make the listener perk up in surprise at the ways in which minimalism responded to wider trends in the culture, extending well beyond classical music.
's playing knits the music together while still respecting the individuality of each work, and
Warner Classics
' sound, mostly from the Salle Colonne in Paris, evokes the depth of the pianist's concept. This is a major release in the minimalist field, and it landed on classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2023. ~ James Manheim