Steve Reich and Musicians
Encyclopedia
Steve Reich and Musicians, sometimes credited as the Steve Reich Ensemble, is a musical ensemble founded and led by the American
composer Steve Reich
(born 1936) to perform his compositions. This ensemble has premiered many of Reich's works and has performed his works more than any other. The ensemble received a Grammy Award in 1999.
, the group began touring nationally and internationally. The size of the ensemble has always fluctuated depending on the works to be performed, with the aforementioned "18 Musicians" being approximately the upper limit, but with many works such as Piano Phase
or Clapping Music
using only a pair of musicians.
By organizing an ensemble of his own with which to perform his works, Reich, like fellow minimalist composer Philip Glass
with his group, altered the traditional route by which classical composers sought to have their music disseminated. The composer-led ensemble became a new model which was to be highly influential on the creation of groups such as Bang on a Can
.
s, vibraphone
s, glockenspiel
s) and voices, as well as bowed string instruments, bass clarinet
s, and electronic organ
s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
(born 1936) to perform his compositions. This ensemble has premiered many of Reich's works and has performed his works more than any other. The ensemble received a Grammy Award in 1999.
History
In 1966, Steve Reich founded his own ensemble of three musicians, which quickly grew to 18 members or more beginning with concerts in lofts and small galleries in New York City. Within a few years, especially after the success of Reich's Music for 18 MusiciansMusic for 18 Musicians
Music for 18 Musicians is a work of musical minimalism composed by Steve Reich during 1974-1976. Its world premiere was on April 24, 1976 at Town Hall, New York. Following this, a recording of the piece was released by ECM New Series...
, the group began touring nationally and internationally. The size of the ensemble has always fluctuated depending on the works to be performed, with the aforementioned "18 Musicians" being approximately the upper limit, but with many works such as Piano Phase
Piano Phase
Piano Phase is a piece of music written in 1967 by the minimalist composer Steve Reich for two pianos. It is his first attempt at applying his "phasing" technique, which he had previously used in the tape pieces It's Gonna Rain and Come Out , to live performance.Reich's phasing works generally...
or Clapping Music
Clapping Music
Clapping Music is a minimalist piece written by Steve Reich in 1972. It is written for two performers and is performed entirely by clapping....
using only a pair of musicians.
By organizing an ensemble of his own with which to perform his works, Reich, like fellow minimalist composer Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
with his group, altered the traditional route by which classical composers sought to have their music disseminated. The composer-led ensemble became a new model which was to be highly influential on the creation of groups such as Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
.
Instrumentation
The ensemble's instrumentation varies according to the piece being performed, but consists primarily of tuned percussion (marimbaMarimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s, vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
s, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
s) and voices, as well as bowed string instruments, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
s, and electronic organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
s.
Members
- Steve ReichSteve ReichStephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
• percussion (tuned drums, marimba), piano, whistling - Pamela Wood Ambush • vocals
- Rebecca Armstrong • vocals (soprano)
- Marion Beckenstein • vocals (soprano)
- Bob BeckerBob BeckerRobert Charles Becker was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for two seasons. He pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1897 to 1898, playing in six career games.-External links:...
• percussion (tuned drums, marimba, xylophone) • original member • member of the NexusNexus (percussion ensemble)Nexus is a Toronto-based percussion ensemble that performs jazz, world music, and western avantgarde music.The ensemble is made up of percussionists Bob Becker , Bill Cahn , Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre, and Garry Kvistad. Founding member Michael Craden died of liver cancer in 1982...
percussion group - Phillip BushPhillip BushPhillip Bush is an American classical pianist, with a career focusing primarily on chamber music and contemporary classical music....
• piano - Jay ClaytonJay ClaytonJay Clayton is an internationally acclaimed avant-garde vocalist and jazz educator.- Early years :...
• vocals (alto), piano - Tim Ferchen • percussion (marimba, xylophone)
- Ben HarmsBen HarmsBen Harms is a German born traditional woodcarver working in England and current President of The Master Carvers Association. Some of his work can be seen at The Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court and alongside the work of Grinling Gibbons at Petworth House.-Life...
• percussion (tuned drums, marimba) - Russell Hartenberger • percussion (tuned drums, marimba, xylophone) • original member • member of the NexusNexus (percussion ensemble)Nexus is a Toronto-based percussion ensemble that performs jazz, world music, and western avantgarde music.The ensemble is made up of percussionists Bob Becker , Bill Cahn , Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre, and Garry Kvistad. Founding member Michael Craden died of liver cancer in 1982...
percussion group - Garry Kvistad • percussion (glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone), piano
- Jeanne LeBlanc • cello
- Richard Rood • violin
- Elizabeth Lim • violin
- Edmund Niemann • piano
- James Preiss • percussion (tuned drums), vibraphone, piano
- Joseph Rasmussen • percussion
- Scott Rawls • viola
- Todd Reynolds • violin • former member of EthelEthel (string quartet)ETHEL is a New York based string quartet that was co-founded in 1998 by Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Todd Reynolds, violin; and Mary Rowell, violin. Unlike most string quartets, ETHEL plays with amplification and integrates improvisation into its performances...
- Cheryl Bensman Rowe • vocals (soprano)
- Gary Schall • percussion (tuned drums)
- Leslie Scott • clarinet, bass clarinet
- Mort Silver • piccolo
- Nurit Tilles • piano, electric organ
- Glen VelezGlen VelezGlen Velez is an American percussionist, vocalist, and composer, specializing in frame drums from around the world. He is largely responsible for the increasing popularity of frame drums in the United States and around the world....
• percussion (tuned drums) - Thad Wheeler • percussion (tuned drums, glockenspiel, marimba, maracas)
- Evan ZiporynEvan ZiporynEvan Ziporyn is an American composer of post-minimalist music and music for Balinese gamelans. He plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, and metallophone, borrowing from classical music, avant-garde, and jazz...
• clarinet, bass clarinet
Steve Reich and Musicians
- The Desert Music • with Brooklyn PhilharmonicBrooklyn PhilharmonicThe Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...
Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Michael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
• NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79101 - Drumming • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79170 - Drumming, Music for Mallets, Voices and Organ, Six Pianos • Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
DG 427 428-2 - Drumming • Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
DG 474 323-2 - Music for a Large Ensemble, Octet, Violin Phase • ECMECM (record label)ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
New Series 78118-21168 - Music for 18 Musicians • ECMECM (record label)ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
New Series 78118-21129 - Music for 18 Musicians • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79448 - Sextet, Six Marimbas • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79138 - Six Pianos, Pendulum Music, Violin Phase, Music for Pieces of Wood, Drumming Part Four • live at The KitchenThe KitchenThe Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
1977 • Orange Mountain Music 0018 - Tehillim • ECMECM (record label)ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
New Series 21215 - Variations for Winds, Strings, and Keyboards • with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edo de WaartEdo de WaartEdo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
• Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
20/21 Series DG 471 591-2
Steve Reich Ensemble
- The Cave • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79327 - City Life, Nagoya Marimbas, Proverb • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79430 - Three Tales • with Synergy Vocals, conducted by Bradley Lubman • NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
79662