Essential Reich
A pioneer of Minimalism in the mid- to late-1960s, composer Steve Reich (born 1936) has been at the forefront of American avant-garde music ever since, and his influence crosses continents and musical boundaries.
Read more…- Reich • Music for 18 Musicians (1974-1976)
- Reich • Duet (1993) • Duet
- Reich • Different Trains (1988) • 1. America: Before the warDifferent Trains (1988)
1. America: Before the warSmith Quartet
Ian Humphries (Violin), Rick Koster (Violin), Nic Pendlebury (Viola), Deirdre Cooper (Violoncello)℗ 2005 - Reich • Different Trains (1988) • 2. Europe: During the warDifferent Trains (1988)
2. Europe: During the warSmith Quartet
Ian Humphries (Violin), Rick Koster (Violin), Nic Pendlebury (Viola), Deirdre Cooper (Violoncello)℗ 2005 - Reich • Different Trains (1988) • 3. After the warDifferent Trains (1988)
3. After the warSmith Quartet
Ian Humphries (Violin), Rick Koster (Violin), Nic Pendlebury (Viola), Deirdre Cooper (Violoncello)℗ 2005 - Reich • Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards (1979) • Variations for Winds, Strings and KeyboardsVariations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards (1979)
Variations for Winds, Strings and KeyboardsEdo de Waart, San Francisco Symphony℗ 1984 - Reich • Electric Counterpoint (1987) • 1. Fast
- Reich • Electric Counterpoint (1987) • 2. Slow
- Reich • Electric Counterpoint (1987) • 3. Fast
- Reich • New York Counterpoint (1985) • I. FastNew York Counterpoint (1985)
I. FastLucia Kye (Clarinet)August 2010, Buffalo, Burchfield Penney Art Center, State University of New York - Reich • New York Counterpoint (1985) • II. SlowNew York Counterpoint (1985)
II. SlowLucia Kye (Clarinet)August 2010, Buffalo, Burchfield Penney Art Center, State University of New York - Reich • New York Counterpoint (1985) • III. FastNew York Counterpoint (1985)
III. FastLucia Kye (Clarinet)August 2010, Buffalo, Burchfield Penney Art Center, State University of New York - Reich • Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973) • Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and OrganMusic for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973)
Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and OrganAmadinda Percussion Group
Ágnes Dobszay (Voice), Erzsebet Hajdu (Voice), Zsuzsanna Lukin (Voice), Aurél Holló (Percussion), Tibor Nemes (Percussion), Balázs Papp (Percussion), Benedek Tóth (Percussion), Béla Faragó (Organ)℗ 2014 - Reich • Tehillim (1981) • Part I (Psalm 19) – Part II (Psalm 34)
- Reich • Tehillim (1981) • Part III (Psalm 18) – Part IV (Psalm 150)
- Reich • Music For A Large Ensemble (1978) • Music For A Large EnsembleMusic For A Large Ensemble (1978)
Music For A Large EnsembleSteve Reich and Musicians℗ 1980 - Reich • Nagoya Marimbas (1994)Nagoya Marimbas (1994)Sabrina Ma (Marimba), Alexandros Giovanos (Marimba)October 2014, Köln, Kammermusiksaal
- Reich • Sextet (1984) • FastSextet (1984)
FastLSO Percussion EnsembleLive
Simon Crawford-Phillips (Piano), Simon Crawford-Phillips (Synthesizer), David Jackson* (Marimba), David Jackson* (Bass Drum), David Jackson* (Crotales), Sam Walton (Vibraphone), Sam Walton (Marimba), Sam Walton (Synthesizer), Sam Walton (Tam-tam), Neil Percy (Vibraphone), Neil Percy (Piano), Antoine Bedewi (Marimba), Antoine Bedewi (Bass Drum), Antoine Bedewi (Piano), Philip Moore (Piano), Philip Moore (Synthesizer)October 2015, London, LSO St Luke's - Reich • Sextet (1984) • ModerateSextet (1984)
ModerateLSO Percussion EnsembleLive
Simon Crawford-Phillips (Piano), Simon Crawford-Phillips (Synthesizer), David Jackson* (Marimba), David Jackson* (Bass Drum), David Jackson* (Crotales), Sam Walton (Vibraphone), Sam Walton (Marimba), Sam Walton (Synthesizer), Sam Walton (Tam-tam), Neil Percy (Vibraphone), Neil Percy (Piano), Antoine Bedewi (Marimba), Antoine Bedewi (Bass Drum), Antoine Bedewi (Piano), Philip Moore (Piano), Philip Moore (Synthesizer)October 2015, London, LSO St Luke's - Reich • Sextet (1984) • SlowSextet (1984)
SlowLSO Percussion EnsembleLive
Simon Crawford-Phillips (Piano), Simon Crawford-Phillips (Synthesizer), David Jackson* (Marimba), David Jackson* (Bass Drum), David Jackson* (Crotales), Sam Walton (Vibraphone), Sam Walton (Marimba), Sam Walton (Synthesizer), Sam Walton (Tam-tam), Neil Percy (Vibraphone), Neil Percy (Piano), Antoine Bedewi (Marimba), Antoine Bedewi (Bass Drum), Antoine Bedewi (Piano), Philip Moore (Piano), Philip Moore (Synthesizer)October 2015, London, LSO St Luke's - Reich • Sextet (1984) • ModerateSextet (1984)
ModerateLSO Percussion EnsembleLive
Simon Crawford-Phillips (Piano), Simon Crawford-Phillips (Synthesizer), David Jackson* (Marimba), David Jackson* (Bass Drum), David Jackson* (Crotales), Sam Walton (Vibraphone), Sam Walton (Marimba), Sam Walton (Synthesizer), Sam Walton (Tam-tam), Neil Percy (Vibraphone), Neil Percy (Piano), Antoine Bedewi (Marimba), Antoine Bedewi (Bass Drum), Antoine Bedewi (Piano), Philip Moore (Piano), Philip Moore (Synthesizer)October 2015, London, LSO St Luke's - Reich • Sextet (1984) • FastSextet (1984)
FastLSO Percussion EnsembleLive
Simon Crawford-Phillips (Piano), Simon Crawford-Phillips (Synthesizer), David Jackson* (Marimba), David Jackson* (Bass Drum), David Jackson* (Crotales), Sam Walton (Vibraphone), Sam Walton (Marimba), Sam Walton (Synthesizer), Sam Walton (Tam-tam), Neil Percy (Vibraphone), Neil Percy (Piano), Antoine Bedewi (Marimba), Antoine Bedewi (Bass Drum), Antoine Bedewi (Piano), Philip Moore (Piano), Philip Moore (Synthesizer)October 2015, London, LSO St Luke's - Reich • Vermont Counterpoint (1982) • Vermont CounterpointVermont Counterpoint (1982)
Vermont CounterpointClaire Chase (Flute)℗ 2014, Yonkers, Oktaven Audio, Yonkers - Reich • Three Movements for Orchestra (1986) • 1. ♩ = 176-184Three Movements for Orchestra (1986)
1. ♩ = 176-184Kristjan Järvi, Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester2007, Wien, Musikverein - Reich • Three Movements for Orchestra (1986) • 2. ♩ = 88-92Three Movements for Orchestra (1986)
2. ♩ = 88-92Kristjan Järvi, Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester2007, Wien, Musikverein - Reich • Three Movements for Orchestra (1986) • 3. ♩ = 176-184Three Movements for Orchestra (1986)
3. ♩ = 176-184Kristjan Järvi, Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester2007, Wien, Musikverein
Drawing on both classical and non-Western influences, including Bach, Stravinsky and Bartók, John Coltrane, African drumming and Balinese gamelan, Reich's music is tonal, harmonic, expressive and accessible, and his large and varied output demonstrates that Minimalism is far more than just repetitions or a fleeting musical trend.
His distinctive music is made up of repetitive patterns and pulses. He combines electronics, tape loops, phases, and fragments of speech or spoken word with traditional instrumentation to create complex textures and multiple shifting layers – hypnotic, engrossing music whose rhythms and patterns move in and out of synchronisation with one another, creating an ambiguous and intriguing range of timbres and effects which grow in complexity and variation. In a piece like 'Piano Phase', Reich transferred the techniques of electronic tape loops and phasing to real instruments: a sequence of pitches played on two pianos moving steadily in and out of sync result in a kaleidoscopic musical narrative.
'Drumming', perhaps his most seminal work and an example of "pure minimalism", uses a single tiny rhythmic cell as the basis for an ambitious large-scale musical structure. 'Different Trains', a personal and deeply moving work, marks his return to the use of sampling where train whistles and interviews with Holocaust survivors are juxtaposed with writing for string quartet.