Rhythm king: Steve Reich on his musical evolution
24 June 2015
Often hailed as America's greatest living composer, Steve Reich's remarkable career has progressed from tape loops and rhythmic experimentation to deploying samplers and video footage, influencing countless musicians along the way.
Here Reich, 79, explains the 'phasing' techniques of his earlier compositions and tells how while on tour in Belgium he had a Eureka moment at a flamenco gig. He explains how all these musical discoveries developed to become components of his larger ensembles such as Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ, Six Pianos and Music For 18 Musicians.
The film features archive footage of Reich’s ensemble performing Music for 18 Musicians in the 1979 BBC programme Trailblazers: Reich’s Revolution.
Thanks to Colin Hynd and Svend Brown at Glasgow Life.
Masters of Minimalism: Steve Reich
Reich reveals how his approach has evolved from tape loop experiments to large ensembles.
More on Steve Reich
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Minimal Impact, BBC Radio 4
Composers trace the origins of the aesthetic of musical minimalism.
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Classics Unwrapped, BBC Radio Scotland
Reich talks about his first encounters with classical music and breaking with convention.
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The Story of Music in Fifty Pieces, BBC Radio 3
Howard Goodall and Suzy Klein discuss Reich's Music for 18 Musicians.
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Stuart Maconie's Freakier Zone, BBC Radio 6 Music
Stuart speaks to the composer in an interview recorded in 2006, around Reich's 70th birthday.
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Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4
Lynne Walker talks to Reich in 1997 about his interest in African and Indonesian music and jazz.
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BBC Music: Steve Reich
Biography, clips, tracks and more.
