classical music: Steve Reich

classical music: Steve Reich

classical music:

Steve Reich

Reich: Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint / Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny

Steve Reich, Pat Metheny

Nonesuch, 1990

Excellent First Reich Disc
Both pieces on this disc are delightful and brilliant - very emotional and accessible I find. Neither has the vast (Well-tempered klavier of percussive phase-shifting!) scale of _18 Musicians_ or _Drumming_, but that's almost certainly an advantage for most people (and ...

Drumming

Steve Reich, Bob Becker, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 2003

A philosophical work
I first heard "Drumming" on my car radio (of all places, of course it was probably WBAI-FM in New York) when it first came out in the early seventies. I pulled over to the side of the road to listen, so hypnotic was its rhythm. I have the original three-LP Deutch ...

Philip Glass - Songs & Poems for Solo Cello - Wendy Sutter

Wendy Sutter, Philip Glass, ...

Orange Mountain Music, 2008

loved it!
This is quite unlike Philip Glass' minimalism music. It is lush and fluid, written for Wendy Sutter, whom he loves. It is obvious and lovely. The old cello she plays has a wonderful deep tone and she plays with controlled virtuosity and passionate feeling. Highly ...

Discover Music of the 20th Century

Roger Heaton, John Adams, ...

Naxos, 2005

For the price you can't lose
This 2 cd set consists of, as the title indicates, various 20c pieces or movements from the Naxos catalog. Sound quality is uniformly high, although for some such as Stockhausen's it's not clear if that's good or bad. What is excellent is the variety of the ...

Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic

Kronos Quartet, Wu Man

Nonesuch, 2008

Bliss from Terry Riley, Kronos and Wu Man
Almost all comparisons, said the man, are odious. Comparing this piece to Requiem for Adam or Salome Dances or Cadenza on the night plain[to name a few Riley/Kronos partnerships] is purely academic. This piece stands on its own, and is simply beautiful. The pipa master ...

Music for 18 Musicians

Steve Reich, Grand Valley State University New Music

Innova, 2007

Repetition is the point
I can't pretend to any particularly deep knowledge of experimental music, but I've dabbled as a student and listener. So when a titan of modern experimental music like Steve Reich acknowledges a recording of one of his own pieces as "a really moving recording of the ...

Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music, Vol. 4

Tada Takashi, Francois / Wyatt, Robert / Ayers, Kevin Bayle, ...

Sub Rosa, 2006

Copyright
The compiler of this series always makes great efforts to track down the copyright holders. Rather than leave off tracks for which he can't find the holder they are included in the "interests of art and music history". The text with the CD explains this, and invites ...

Steve Reich: Daniel Variations

Steve Reich, Grant Gershon, ...

Nonesuch, 2008

A great work
I completely disagree with the other review in terms of Reich has not developed over the last - what - 30 years. I particularly am fond of "You Are (Variations", "Three Tales", and now the "Daniel Variations". Generally speaking I _especially_ like the choir parts in ...

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians

Composer: Steve Reich, Performer: Steve Reich Ensemble

Ecm Records, 2000

Riveting
Music for 18 Musicians is a minimalist masterpiece. Minimalism is not a readily accepted or appreciated genre of modern classical music, so I suggest you listen to the piece before you buy it. Even if you don't like it upon the first listen, I would encourage you to ...

Reich: Tehillim / The Desert Music

Alan Pierson, Ossia

Cantaloupe, 2002

Wow!
I've loved this music since it first appeared, back in the early '80s, and I second the praise that others have delivered about this recording. It has a clarity and immediacy missing from previous outings (the musicians were probably recorded in the multi-miked "pop" ...

Three Tales (CD & DVD)

Steve Reich, Bradley Lubman, ...

Nonesuch, 2003

Try again, it's all there and good, I promise
Just because you do not like "Three Tales" does not mean that "Three Tales" sucks. You were expecting "Music for 18 Musicians-the sequel", maybe? This is a different kind of music. To be honest, at first, I did not at all care for the music or the video. Then really, ...

Steve Reich: Octet; Music for a Large Ensemble; Violin Phase

Judith Sugarman, Lewis Paer, ...

Ecm Records, 2000

Some of Reich's best works
Octet and Music for a Large Ensemble are two of my favorite Steve reich works. Octet has lots of low winds and piano, giving it a lot of charm and textural warmth. Music for a Large Ensemble has more of an urgent feel, more of a piercing texture at times, and is also a ...

25 Years: Retrospective

Suzanne Elder, Paul Hillier, ...

Nonesuch, 1998

How Could You Not Listen?
My opinion pales when compared to this CD. Indeed the group's ingeniousness, its knowing and its balls are in full display here, hopefully to put to rest any lingering contention that there is little more to Kronos than form. To any person who accepts the merits of ...

SYR 4: Goodbye 20th Century

John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, ...

Sonic Youth / Syr, 1999

Classical avant-garde experimentalism from.....a rock band?
It's hard to believe, but it's true. The 4th CD in the SYR experimental series (titled Goodbye 20th Century, appropriatly) of Sonic Youth Records, is a fantastic double album soundscape of the finest kind. The CD has reinterpretations of post 50's era classical ...

Classical Chillout

Various Artists

EMI Classics, 2002

unique movie and tv music selections
This cd has interesting selections, some from movies and some from tv commercials. All good, and a few interesting and unexpected ones, like Spiegel im Spiegel, and Peretuum Mobile (my 2 favorites). You won't recognize those names, but you'll realize you heard them ...