Probably the most prominent and prolific “minimalist” composers is Philip Glass, and I own a lot of CDs with his music, but in the long run I expect that Steve Reich will be remembered as the more brilliant of the late 20th century composers; as Bach was to counterpoint and the Baroque, so Reich is to minimalism and post-modern classical music.

Reich’s music really doesn’t sound like anything else, and it is varied. Music for 18 Musicians from 1974 is his first great masterpiece. If you have never listened to it, you owe it to yourself to take an hour and listen to it. Here it is, in a new version by Ensemble Signal. It is both simple and complex, joyful and serious. If you feel like it, stand up and dance with it – I won’t tell anybody.