Steve Reich

A zeppelin explodes, a nuclear bomb is tested, a sheep is cloned, and a robot casts its beatific gaze on you. Three Tales, a visionary opera created by Steve Reich with video artist Beryl Korot, has it all. You can experience this rarely performed, mind-stretching event along with performances of Quartet, a work scored for two pianos and two vibraphones, and the world premiere of Pulse, a work co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall.

Part of the Steve Reich–curated Three Generations exploration of the changing direction of concert music, this evening focuses on the pioneering first generation of composers. In his revolutionary In C, Terry Riley took 53 phrases, or modules, and gave players the freedom to repeat them as often as they like before moving to the next phrase. The resulting work introduced minimalism to the mainstream. John Adams’s Shaker Loops owes much to the minimalist movement, but also uses small repeating melodic fragments, a technique popularized by Steve Reich in his tape music. Adams’s piece refers to the Shaker religious group, recreating their ecstatic ritual dance in music that is wildly exciting, beautifully meditative, and always fascinating.

Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.

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Music of Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich is featured in a performance that’s part of Three Generations, a Reich-curated exploration of the changing direction of concert music from the mid-20th century to the present day. Chant-like melodic lines and notes resembling ringing bells are Pärt hallmarks, while Glass’s incandescent String Quartet No. 5 juxtaposes rhythmically propulsive passages with slower, tender ones. Reich’s Different Trains is a riveting work in which strings imitate the sounds of speech samples drawn from recorded interviews and train sounds. This powerful musical documentary speaks to the composer’s childhood and the tragic experience of Jews in 1940s Europe.

Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.

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A group of composers associated with the revolutionary Bang on a Can collective are featured in this event that is part of the Steve Reich–curated Three Generations exploration of the changing direction of concert music. Impossible to pigeonhole, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon eschew the familiar “isms” of the day by creating music that is deeply moving and always surprising.

Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.

Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly are leading voices of a new generation of young, eclectic, and absolutely fearless composers. NPR described Dessner’s music as “gorgeous and full-hearted,” while The Washington Post called Muhly “a composer who has everything.” Dessner's and Muhly’s music is performed by an ensemble of young cutting-edge performers who are not averse to taking risks on stage. This final concert of Three Generations, the Steve Reich–curated exploration of new music, presents the bold face of music now and tomorrow.

Part of Three Generations, curated by Steve Reich.