Steve Reich - South Bank Show - Part 4

[phoebe10mimi]

GCSE music? ;)

[woodyeckerslyke]

18. Great but in the end it's music about music. Next level is to give it some point of contact. OK. Different trains is on as I'm writing this.

[CinnAlla]

@woodyeckerslyke I find his music totally engaging. I get a great sense of contact. I don't think it's any more 'music about music' than Bach's 'Art of the Fugue' is.

[tranmer3]

WHERE THE FFFFFFF44 IS PT1 THEN??

[BenNCM]

I like the way people don't wish to praise the Balinese Ghanian musicians who have been writing this music for thousands of years but call Steve a genius for raping and appropriating a culture's musical capital. So tyipcal of the West. Absolute fucking dicks the lot of them.

[Jrg320]

@BenNCM Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't his intention to interact the western art music tradition with music of other cultures, and if so, how is that raping a culture? Isn't Reich himself praising the Balinese and Ghanian musicians who inspired him by displaying the music that would otherwise be completely without an audience in the west?

[CinnAlla]

@BenNCM Steve himself praises them.

[5botball]

You just have to submit to the music then you can truly enjoy it and understand it

[TheMikenco]

I think this might be to music, what graffiti is to art.

Potentially complex and very artistic, but not exactly mainstream.

Interesting.

[amistrymister]

Wow Reich looks so much younger, and its only 3 years ago.

[Mrs912009Sarah]

i respect his music .and him being a composer

but at some points it just gives me a headache

[hlmox]

the first bit is really painful to listen to!

[jgroat68]

my fav section is section vi

[Garg221]

thats so fuckin great, i will buy that song immediately...

[amistrymister]

i love section IIIA - shame they didnt show it.

[zyzzy78]

When I saw "Music for 18 Musicians" at Carnegie Hall in '06 (part of the Steve Reich @ 70 series), I remember that the ensemble lost the beat somewhere in the middle. So James Preiss (the vibraphone player, seen in this video) started clacking his mallet handles together to sync everyone up again. It was kind of a white-knuckles experience for the audience, I think.

[amistrymister]

woah. you are so lucky! do you know if they are ever coming to the uk?

[zyzzy78]

It doesn't look like Steve Reich and Musicians will be performing anytime soon, but Bang on a Can will be premiering Reich's new piece "2x5" at the Manchester International Festival on July 2, 2009, and Bang on a Can, Synergy Vocals, and the London Sinfonietta will be doing a Reich concert on Halloween in Royal Festival Hall. The "Concerts" link at Steve Reich's official website is a good place to look for that kind of information.

[amistrymister]

thanks man!

[bodoboi]

Reich performed "18" w. the London Sinfonietta on Halloween and it was an incredible treat to be present in the auditorium.

Afterwards, there was a 25min Q&A w. Paul Morley which was enlightening, even if Morley wasn't entirely au fait with Reich's canon.

The concert was recorded, and I'm hoping it'll make a commercial release (DVD would be appreciated) at some point.

[boggedmaffus]

@bodoboi Paul Morley and enlightening in the same sentence? Wow...

[UppruniTegundanna]

I love Music for 18 Musicians so much!

[Hogweed11]

I first heard it a week ago, and I've played it all the way through 20 times already. Hahaha.

[hitdoggie]

Steve Reich is the man. He's so unpretentious and down to earth. It's great to see his musical roots are so diverse.

[domuned]

Alguien sabe si están con subtítulos en castellano?

[timegrinder]

Unlikely.

[Xithon]

Thanks for the videos, really great interview of one of my favourite composers!

[wilsonkm]

So at first I heard that Reich was coming to our school (James Madison University) and I had no clue what he was....the music he composed was "different" because it was the least expected for me.

Now I think he's one of the greatest composers and I've come to respect what he does. And now I can't believe he came to my school, haha...

[VomitSelf7]

Lucky. I'd like to listen to a lecture from him. I also wanted one for Stockhausen, but he died before I got the chance.

[wilsonkm]

Died? He's still alive...

You mean he left Stockhausen?

[VomitSelf7]

Stockhausen died. I'dve loved to listen to him talk. A month ago, Reich wasn't such a big influence on me, but now, to me, he's much greater than Stockhausen.

[digimaton]

greater? no, just different. Why does one composer need to be 'greater' than another, it's not a competition.

[suchsweetthunder47]

lol, 1:29. Al Pacino should play Reich in a biopic.

[narozzz]

Oh shit, you're right! Haha...

[TheBlackPage1]

Music for 18 Musicians is an incredible work, along with Daniel Variations I think that's Reich's greatest achievement. Whenever I think I'm going off listening to him, I hear that theme (around 6:15 on this video) and think...wow. It has such a warm, emotional depth to it that I can't really feel in any other music. Great stuff.

[AwesomeHec]

Reich didn't invent the idea of an orchestra (or ensemble) with no conductor in the West. The Soviets unsuccessfully began the practice during the Lenin era, albeit incredibly unsuccessfully.

[ruitye75ir94444]

Also Baroque harpsichordists used figured bass to conduct the chamber groups.

[TheBlackPage1]

Reich really is a genius.

[korjeklokismo]

I like the old bass clarinet-player!

[robertronics]

one of the few living genius of our time