Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on George Grella, one of the sharpest music critics working today.

George is the music editor of The Brooklyn Rail and has written for The Wire, the New York Times, and, luckily for us, The Tonearm.

George just published Minimalist Music, part of Bloomsbury's 33⅓ Genre series. His central argument is that minimalism isn't defined by sparse materials or specific harmonies; it's defined by how it uses time. Understanding that distinction impacts how we approach and hear the music, and what happens to this music when its originators are gone.

We talk about that thesis, the line between minimalism and post-minimalism, and what it takes to build a life in music writing. We also take a detour into John Zorn's visual art.

The musical excerpts heard in the interview are Terry Riley - “In C” (performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars on the album In C ), Philip Glass - "Music in Twelve Parts: Part 1" (performed by The Philip Glass Ensemble on the album Music in Twelve Parts), and Steve Reich - “Drumming: Pt III” (performed by Steve Reich and Musicians on the album Drumming).

—

Dig Deeper

Guest and Book

Visit George Grella Jr. at The Brooklyn Rail where he serves as music editor, and on The Tonearm, where he is a contributor
Subscribe to his Substack newsletter, Kill Yr Idols,, and follow him on Bluesky
Purchase Minimalist Music (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026) from Bloomsbury, Bookshop.org, Powell's Books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or your other retailer of choice
Read Grella's Substack post "Minimalism at the End" — the piece discussed in this episode
George Grella Jr.'s previous book: Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Bloomsbury, 2015) — part of the 33⅓ series

Key Composers

Steve Reich — official website
Philip Glass — official website
Meredith Monk — official website
Morton Feldman — Wikipedia
La Monte Young — Wikipedia
Arvo Pärt — official website
Louis Andriessen — Wikipedia
John Zorn — Tzadik website

Key Works Discussed

Music for 18 Musicians — Steve Reich
Electric Counterpoint — Steve Reich
Drumming — Steve Reich
Different Trains — Steve Reich
Einstein on the Beach — Ictus, Suzanne Vega, Collegium Vocale Gent (VLEK, 2025) — the recording discussed in this episode
Glassworks — Philip Glass
Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969–1974 — reconstructed and mixed by Bill Laswell (Sony, 1998)
Kind of Blue — Miles Davis

Ensembles and Organizations

Bang on a Can — including the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the annual Long Play Festival
Sō Percussion — Grammy-winning percussion quartet
Ictus Ensemble — Brussels-based contemporary music ensemble

Referenced Books

On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement — Kerry O'Brien and William Robin (University of California Press, 2023)
Kerry O'Brien and William Robin on The Tonearm Podcast
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century — Alex Ross (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007)

Exhibition

John Zorn: Hermetic Cartography — The Drawing Center, New York (February 7–May 11, 2025). The exhibition featured drawings, graphic scores, and visual works spanning seven decades of Zorn's practice.

—

Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com

—

• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice.

• Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

• Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.