#5027, Musical Tributes to Terry Riley

New Sounds | Jul 11, 2025

Terry Riley, b. 1935, is an American composer recognized as a founding father of minimalism. “Riley’s compositions were able to cross six decades of vanguard music, creating procedures and structures so flexible that they were able to resist through time and influenced a wide range of sounds that were apparently far removed and incompatible”, (Ponderosa.it). Hear several musical tributes to Terry Riley for his 90^th birthday from keyboardist and composer Lorna Dune, American pianist and songwriter Marco Benevento, and clarinetist and composer Evan Ziporyn, along with music by Riley.

Listen to work from a New Sounds Live concert celebrating Riley’s 80^th birthday, by Marco Benevento, who builds layer upon layer of modified piano to create a piece that's inspired equally by Terry Riley and the Who song that carries his name "Baba O'Riley." Also, there’s music by Lorna Dune used arpeggiated synthesizers to evoke Riley's trademark sound. Also, music by The Who (not The Hu). Hear a 2023 collective composition, “Poppy 88”, arranged by Evan Ziporyn performed by ContaQt and MIT, (88 individuals, spread across 60 locations in 23 countries and 6 continents ) together online playing music for Terry Riley's 88th birthday. Plus, there’s work by Terry Riley himself, some of both some of his “A Rainbow in Curved Air”, and the b-side, “Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band” from a 4-disc retrospective coming soon in August.

Program #5027, Musical Tributes to Terry Riley (First aired 7/11/25)

ARTIST: The Who
WORK: Baba O’Riley, excerpt [1:27]
RECORDING: Who’s Next
SOURCE: Decca Records
INFO: Available via YouTube, Spotify, Amazon.com, AppleMusic

ARTIST: Terry Riley
WORK: A Rainbow in Curved Air [4:39]
RECORDING: A Rainbow in Curved Air
SOURCE: CBS Records / Columbia Masterworks
INFO: Available at Youtube, Amazon.com, Spotify, and via Discogs.com

ARTIST: Lorna Dune
WORK: Riley’s Rainbow [6:46]
RECORDING: New Sounds Live @ Merkin Hall 3/18/2015
SOURCE: Not commercially available.
INFO: lornadune.com

ARTIST: Marco Benevento
WORK: Out Here in the Fields [6:45]
RECORDING: New Sounds Live @ Merkin Hall 3/18/2015
SOURCE: Not commercially available
INFO: marcobenevento.com

ARTIST: Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society
WORK: Baba O'Terry Riley [1:27]
RECORDING: Soundcloud
SOURCE: Six Degrees
INFO: soundcloud.com/sixdegreesrecords/delia-derbyshire-appreciation-society-baba-oterry-riley

ARTIST: The Who
WORK: Baba O’Riley [4:57]
RECORDING: Who’s Next
SOURCE: Decca Records
INFO: Available via YouTube, Spotify, Amazon.com, AppleMusic

ARTIST: Terry Riley
WORK: Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band [2:52]
RECORDING: TERRY RILEY – THE COLUMBIA RECORDINGS
SOURCE: Sony / Columbia, due out Aug. 22
INFO: https://terryriley.lnk.to/columbiarecordingsPR

ARTIST: ContaQt + Evan Ziporyn + Friends
WORK: Poppy88 [8:03]
RECORDING: Poppy 88
SOURCE: PeoplePlaces Records
INFO: https://peopleplacesrecords.bandcamp.com/album/poppy-88

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