Ecstasy through repetition: that’s the recipe of Minimalism. It repeats simple melodic patterns over and over, altering them only slightly — and became one of America’s most important contributions to 20th-century music history. Michael Gordon, one of the co-founders of the legendary New York collective Bang on a Can alongside Julia Wolfe and David Lang, follows in the footsteps of Minimalist pioneers like Steve Reich and Philip Glass. But his music is also unmistakably infused with rock. Trance opens with a striking electric bass riff; saxophones, synthesizers, and electric guitar create a raw, intensely powerful ensemble sound. In this 1995 work, Gordon lets short motifs collide and builds, from complex, constantly shifting rhythms, a fiercely pulsating 50-minute rush: edgy, rhythmically vibrant music that drives toward an ecstatic climax, enriched with samples of Buddhist and Gregorian chants.

Gregory Charette

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Sep 13, 2026

Ensemble Helix/Hochschule Luzern — Musik Studio for Contemporary Music | Gregory Charette · Lucerne Festival

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Trance by Gordon

Lucerne Festival

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