Steve Reich
b. 1936
Snapshot
Steve Reich was recently called "...the most original musical thinker of our time" (The New Yorker) and "...among the great composers of the century" (The New York Times) * His instantly recognizable musical language combines rigorous structures with propulsive rhythms and seductive instrumental colour * Many choreographers have used his scores, including Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Jiri Kylian and Jerome Robbins * Exclusive recording contract with Nonesuch, on which label Different Trains earned him one Grammy™ for Best Contemporary Composition and Music for 18 Musicians a second * His "documentary video opera" works The Cave and Three Tales (in collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot) have expanded the boundaries of the operatic medium.
Works by Steve Reich include:
Music for Eighteen Musicians (1974-76) for voices and ensemble
City Life (1995) for ensemble
Triple Quartet (1998) for string quartet with pre-recorded tape, or string ensemble, or string orchestra
Looking Ahead:
In January 2012, 2x5 receives its west coast premiere at Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and WTC 9/11 receives its French premiere at the Cité de la musique in Paris by the Kronos Quartet.
New Video: View an interview with Steve Reich talking about his life and music.
In January 2012, 2x5 receives its west coast premiere at Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and WTC 9/11 receives its French premiere at the Cité de la musique in Paris by the Kronos Quartet.
New Video: View an interview with Steve Reich talking about his life and music.
"There's just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them."— The Guardian
Mailing List
Sign up for news updates and offers via email
SIGN UP
Featured Publication
Britten: War Requiem
Britten's pacifist masterwork, combining war poetry by Wilfred Owen with the Latin Requiem Mass, is included in the Masterworks Library of full scores, ideal for conductors, students and music lovers.
READ MORE