
One of the great minimalists alongside Philip Glass and Terry Riley, Steve Reich
remains heroically unafraid of the blank page. The 81-year-old may no
longer rewrite the rules of modern composition as he did with
revolutionary works such as
Piano Phase, Drumming and
Music for 18 Musicians, but happily continues to be inspired by younger artists. His
Radio Rewrite (2012) evolved from a meeting with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, while
Pulse uses electric bass to nod to Giorgio Moroder via Daft Punk. The International Contemporary Ensemble make the wistful
Pulse
(premiered 2015) sing, with its spiralling, inquisitive strings,
completely free of the tense nervousness of some of Reich’s more
repetitive work. It’s a less complex listen than
Quartet (2013), a lightly jazzy essay in key-confounding hypnosis on piano and
vibraphone, written for and performed by Reich’s favourite
percussionists, Colin Currie Group.
(Damien Morris / The Guardian)
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