What if your life got caught in some sort of endless time loop? What if you were forced to live the same day over and over again?

What if your music got caught in some sort of endless time loop? What if you were forced to play the same measure over and over again?

Steve Reich is an American composer best known for his minimalist compositions – put simply, pieces that use a minimal number of musical resources (especially pitch and rhythm). His Piano Phase remains one of the defining pieces of the movement. Two pianists play a short phrase of music over and over again; one speeds up just a tiny bit, and eventually the two pianists are one note off from each other. The same pianist speeds up again, and then they are two notes apart. And so on. Because the piece is so repetitious, a subtle change becomes a tremendous moment.

A marvelously simple piece, fiendishly difficult to perform. This music can put you in a trance, or drive you crazy, or maybe both. But so would living the same day over and over again.

most performances take over 15 minutes … I was very happy to find this 5-minute version!