I've seen all three of the "Portrait operas" live. The second two are definitely very different to Einstein on the Beach which feels more "modern" and experimental (but also really approachable - this is far from what many people expect of 20th Century avant-garde music)
Steve Reich seemed to want to also move towards more conventional narrative forms later in his career and seemed to sacrifice some of the elegance and purity to do so.
John Adams on the other hand came a generation later and those compromises always felt more natural and less forced for him.
(Terry Riley is the real maverick out of the original minimalists. He just does his own thing and damn everyone else. I had the pleasure of having a very brief chat with him after a concert and he was a lovely chap. I asked him about John Cale)
Steve Reich seemed to want to also move towards more conventional narrative forms later in his career and seemed to sacrifice some of the elegance and purity to do so.
John Adams on the other hand came a generation later and those compromises always felt more natural and less forced for him.
(Terry Riley is the real maverick out of the original minimalists. He just does his own thing and damn everyone else. I had the pleasure of having a very brief chat with him after a concert and he was a lovely chap. I asked him about John Cale)