I think that what draws me, in particular, to Reich's "Proverb," Part's "Passio," and much of the other music that has been mentioned in this small foray into a huge subject is that those pieces aren't really minimal. They're all representative of composers who wrote a lot of minimal music and were able to create a fascinating sound-world, but then grew out of minimalism into something new and more unique. "Proverb" is so stunningly beautiful to me because it takes some of the sounds and moods of minimalism and uses them in an incredibly dramatic, forward-moving, non-repetitive, and not very minimal style. Not that there's anything wrong with being a fan of minimalism, but what attracts me about a lot of the music that's been discussed here is that it goes beyond minimalism to a more personal style, which to me has much more life and soul than the standard minimalist fare.

Just thought I'd toss out my two cents on the subject. And also, if people are looking for minimal-type stuff with rock influences (like the piece mentioned in the post to which I'm responding), Glenn Branca's symphonies are really interesting. He has written a few symphonies for groups of 40 electric guitars and such, and while I'm not a huge fan, they are incredibly fresh and new. Anything by the Michael Nyman Band is worth a shot, too. He's the guy who did the soundtrack to "The Piano," but now he's mostly writing sort-of minimal music and performing it with a band of musicians (classical and rock both). And more on the "classical" side, Michael Daugherty writes a lot of fun stuff with tremendous pop influences: his "Metropolis Symphony" (based on Superman comics) and his opera "Jackie O" are very original works. Again, I don't think that they quite accomplish what they attempt, but they're very unique and worth at least one listen.

Sorry to rant on, but this is a subject I'm very interested in, and I usual I can't restrain myself from discussing it.

-Scott