Reich

The hook for this terrific recording of three of Steve Reich's most attractive works is the use of alternate versions of the several pieces that differ from the original recordings on Nonesuch. This recording has Reich's imprimatur; he enthusiastically recommends the performances in a program note. The most radical departure from the original version is Piano Counterpoint, Vincent Corver's arrangement of Six Pianos for a single live pianist with the other five parts prerecorded. This allows the piece to fit nicely into Reich's "Counterpoint" series, which includes Vermont Counterpoint for flutes and New York Counterpoint for clarinets. Corver also speeds up the tempo so the piece has an even more propulsive aural energy, although in live performance it's hard to beat the visceral excitement of six pianists on-stage. The London Steve Reich Ensemble version of the Triple Quartet, unlike the Kronos Quartet's premiere recording, uses three live quartets, and is one of three performance options that Reich specified in the score, the third being an orchestral version with 36 players. This is the first commercial recording of this version.

Steve Reich - WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns - Kronos Quartet (2011) {CD+DVD Nonesuch 528236-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 151 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
DVD5 -> 996 Mb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | ~16 m | LinearPCM, 2 ch | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Nonesuch Records / Warner | 528236-2
Classical / Chamber Music / Electronic / Avant-Garde / Classical Crossover / Minimalism

Nonesuch releases Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Steve Reich’s WTC 9/11 on September 20, 2011. The album marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, which is the subject of Reich’s piece. Commissioned for and recorded by Kronos Quartet, WTC 9/11 is scored for three string quartets and pre-recorded voices. The album also includes Reich’s Mallet Quartet, performed by Sō Percussion, and Dance Patterns, featuring members of Steve Reich and Musicians, as well as a DVD with a live performance of Mallet Quartet by Sō Percussion.

Following the tremendous success of her 2011 album Kuniko Plays Reich, and subsequent recordings of works by the pioneering composer, percussionist Kuniko has established a reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of Steve Reich. Here she has recorded Kuniko Plays Reich II, a bold programme of innovative works which span Reich's artistic career and showcase some of his groundbreaking techniques. Composed in his early thirties, Piano Phase is performed in Kuniko's own mesmerising arrangement for two vibraphones; characteristically Kuniko plays both parts. While Nagoya Marimbas uses some composition tools which Reich popularised in Piano Phase, Four Organs draws its inspiration from the Middle Ages. Closing this riveting recital, Mallet Quartet sees Reich in a more melodically expansive mood, albeit with his trademark tight rhythmic drive and canonic textures.

The music of Steve Reich has been heard in various venues, including electronic music dance clubs, but the full symphony orchestra treatment has been rare. That is changing, however, with the tenure of Kristjan Järvi as chief conductor of the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the result in that musically conservative, German city is this major-label double album of Reich's music, in many respects a first. Järvi's enthusiasm for the project is palpable here, most obviously in the live performance of the early Reich standard Clapping Music, which he and the composer perform together to the approval of the crowd.