Steve Reich was the guest of honor at the Barbican in London for Reverberations, a weekend-long music marathon exploring his music and influence, featuring Kronos Quartet in the European premiere of his WTC 9/11. The Daily Telegraph gives Reverberations a perfect five stars, saying that while Reich's "influence has been massive ... it was the innocence and shy ecstasy of Reich’s own music that left the deepest impression." The Times and Evening Standard give the festival four stars. Kronos gives the Scottish premiere of WTC 9/11 this Friday for the weekend's Kronos in Glasgow festival.
Steve Reich was the guest of honor at the Barbican in London for Reverberations, a weekend-long music marathon celebrating his 75th birth year and exploring his music and influence on generations of composers and musicians. Reich was joined by artists like Kronos Quartet, Bryce Dessner, eighth blackbird, So Percussion, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Lee Ranaldo, Dan Deacon, and many others. Kronos performed in two Reverberations concerts, including premieres of works by Dessner and Michael Gordon and the European premiere of Steve Reich's latest piece, WTC 9/11.
Reich spoke with the BBC News about WTC 9/11 in a piece you can watch at bbc.co.uk. New York news station NY1 spoke with the composer and Kronos Quartet's David Harrington about the piece in conjunction with the previous weekend's New York premiere at Carnegie Hall; watch that at ny1.com. There's more on the piece from Voice of America at voanews.com. You can listen to an excerpt of the forthcoming Nonesuch release of Kronos performing WTC 9/11 in last week's Nonesuch Journal.
---
The Daily Telegraph gives Reverberations a perfect five stars. Reich's "influence has been massive, and the survey was correspondingly generous," says reviewer Ivan Hewett, such that "one could come away thinking that Reich’s minimalism has been a fertilising and enlivening influence, in surprisingly various ways."
For all the music included in the festival by composers who have been influenced by Reich, Hewett concludes: "In the end, it was the innocence and shy ecstasy of Reich’s own music that left the deepest impression." Read more at telegraph.co.uk.
---
The Times of London and the Evening Standard both give the festival four stars. "Once an outcast, Steve Reich is now a musical figurehead," writes the Standard's Nick Kimberley. Of WTC 9/11, Kimberley says: "Reich fashions an anguished memorial that resonates beyond the immediate context." Read the review at thisislondon.co.uk.
---
Kronos followed Friday's European premiere of WTC 9/11 at the Barbican with the German premiere at the Alfried Krupp Saal in Essen on Sunday. The group will give the Scottish premiere this coming Friday as part of the weekend-long Kronos in Glasgow festival. In advance of the festivities, the Quartet is featured in the Herald Scotland; read the article at heraldscotland.com. For more on the upcoming shows, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
- Log in to post comments
