Steve Reich performs at London's Royal Albert Hall tonight as part of an all-Reich program with Ensemble Modern for the BBC Proms. The concert, which marks the composer's 75th birthday year, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. "His work using looped taped voices was not only original," writes the Guardian, "but created stunning, fluid sounds which still impress today ... In a Proms season that contains many treasures, Reich's performance ... stands out." MusicOMH gives Reich's forthcoming album four stars, calling its WTC 9/11 "a stark and fascinating addition to his oeuvre."
Steve Reich performs at the Royal Albert Hall in London tonight as part of an all-Reich program for the BBC Proms. The concert, which marks the composer's 75th birthday year, includes three groundbreaking Reich pieces—Clapping Music, Electric Counterpoint, and Music for 18 Musicians—and will feature the composer on percussion and piano, along with guitarist Mats Bergström, Synergy Vocals, and Ensemble Modern. "His hypnotic rhythms and elements taken from jazz and non-Western traditions produce some ravishing music," says the BBC. Tune in to hear the Prom broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 tonight at 8:15 PM GMT and around the world online at bbc.co.uk.
The Guardian has offered a paean to the composer as part of its In praise of ... series.
"His work using looped taped voices was not only original," says the piece, "but created stunning, fluid sounds which still impress today." The writers go on to explain that "Reich cares about creating sonic beauty through harmony and rhythm," such that, "with John Adams, he created a distinctly American form of postwar music, less alien to untrained ears than some of the output of their European contemporaries."
The Guardian concludes: "In a Proms season that contains many treasures, Reich's performance—and his presence in London—stands out."
Read the complete In praise of ... Steve Reich at guardian.co.uk.
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Also in the Guardian, writer Tom Service finds "exemplary" in Reich's career "that he's never compromised to fit in with classical music's festivals, institutions, or style police. Instead, classical music has changed to accommodate him. Music for 18 Musicians at the Proms is a reminder of how much we've all been enriched as a result." Read Service's piece at guardian.co.uk.
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Steve Reich's latest album, featuring the first recording of WTC 9/11, Reich's reflection on the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, performed by Kronos Quartet, is due out next month on Nonesuch, paired with Mallet Quartet, performed by Sō Percussion, and Dance Patterns, featuring members of Steve Reich and Musicians.
MusicOMH gives the album four stars. Reviewer Steven Johnson calls WTC 9/11 "a stark and fascinating addition to his oeuvre" and concludes of the three pieces on the album: "Taken together, the respective pieces further confirm Reich’s elevated status in the world of contemporary classical music as a prolific and consistent creative force. This album shows him to still be in thrall to the possibilities of composition and unafraid of tackling the bigger issues it can so powerfully address." Read the review at musicomh.com.
To reserve a copy of the album, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album starting on release day.
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