When Steve Reich turned 70 in 2006, the world's major concert halls celebrated with retrospectives of the composer's work. Included among them was the Barbican in London, which has just announced plans to celebrate Reich's 75th birthday next year with Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich, pairing four London premieres of new Reich compositions with music written by composers who have followed in his footsteps.
When Steve Reich turned 70 in 2006, New York City, the composer's hometown, celebrated with Steve Reich @70, an unprecedented collaboration among Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and London marked the occasion with Phases: The Music of Steve Reich, a major retrospective at the Barbican Centre. Now, with Reich's 75th birthday still more than 18 months away, plans are already under way to celebrate once more. The Barbican has announced that in May 2011, it will present Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich, pairing four London premieres of new Reich compositions with music written by composers who have followed in his footsteps.
The two-day celebration will include 2 x 5, performed by Bang on a Can, and Double Sextet, performed by eighth blackbird, together with a new string quartet written for the Kronos Quartet. Along with this and other music by Reich will be works by John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang. Other performers include The National's Bryce Dessner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Amadinda Quartet.
Full details of the event will be available this fall. In the mean time, for some additional information, visit barbican.org.uk.
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