Complete recording by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edo De Waart in 1983 of the Steve Reich masterpiece. Available on the Philips label.
First time I heard this it was around about 1992 and I was driving on the M62 (the highest motorway in England and notorious for perilous driving conditions!) over Saddleworth (it's highest point) and the weather was absolutely atrocious: heavy rain and high crosswinds) then all of a sudden the dark sky cracked and the sun shone so brightly over the moors producing a rainbow in the distance. This piece was the perfect accompaniment to the sun breaking through the storm clouds and it makes me think about that journey every time I hear it. I've been a fan of Reich's music ever since. Simply beautiful.
@@reach4thesports897 On the occasion described it was actually on cassette in my friend's Citröen CX Pallas - it was a very long time ago! To answer your question fully, this kind of stuff does get played on the radio quite often over here on BBC Radio 3. Often thought of as an anachronism these days, Radio 3 is a lot more avant garde than most people think, especially towards the late evening and its through the night programming. It's worth checking out if you can stream it in your part of the world - as I say, the more esoteric stuff like this tends to get played at night.
Back in college, i used to sleep at my girlfriend's place and, since she had to go to work early in the morning, we used to walk to the bus station when the city was still dark and asleep: cars, traffic and bystanders just starting to crowd the streets. Once she hopped on the bus, i would walk back home listening to this and other Reich's works. 6 years later, those brasses give me the chills, and deep, strong memories (including the cold morning breeze, the scent of her hair) run through my head. What a piece.
This is it. That's when music touches parts of the human brain and soul no other medium can reach. I remember listening to this piece many years ago when facing challenging personal times. This music came to rescue me. It's amazingly powerful in elevating and broadening your life's perception.
this has a "feel", an actual touch sense, to the vibration. the actual arrangement is positioned expertly... it's beyond most of our knowledge how mystical and futuristic this. no words can convey how sad the world is without it.
You may have heard of Philip Glass - but Steve Reich is the master. Love his use of synths. Other great composers like Max Richter following suit now. But Steve will always take you to unexplored places in YOUR OWN MIND.
totally agree Phillip Glass never has grabbed me the way S Reich has~I am a prof musician (pianist) piece Six pianos first heard it ca 1982-83 when I was in grad school, big comp/theory dept there, just GRABBED me then!
What I love about this piece (and other minimalist works as well) is that it reverses roles, where the chords change while the ostinato remains (relatively) constant, subverting their roles in the "motion across a background" idea. I try to do this with my own electronic music, and when it works, it's spine-tingling.
My favourite Reich piece and for me the height of this style of minimalism...the gradually shifting complexities and the lightness of spirit...wonderful and hypnotic.
@@seeling_liebe Indeed he does... but Arvo Pärt comes even closer for me (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sp2oxWdRMuk.html). Both him and Reich have a way to connect to my emotions directly and elevate me like few musicians/composers do in minimalism or other genres. But I agree with Paul that Reich transcends everyone else in minimalism.
@@thomasanderson6879 I agree with you 100%. In the end it may be about specific pieces by Reich or Adams. Some tracks on Philip Glass's "1000 Airplanes on the Roof" are wonderful listening. Maybe the one called "Labyrinth" and the two that follow it. But I can O-D on Glass fairly quickly. In the past year I discovered Salonen's orchestral compositions.
@@rr7firefly I'll have a listen to some of Salonen's works. Thanks for the tip. Yes, both Glass and Reich write music that can be wonderful and in the case of Glass often cathartic, but like you I can quickly tire of them. I've been listening to some of Adams' pieces for over twenty years and they still sound fresh and inspiring (Harmonielehre, Common Tones in Simple Time and Fearful Symmetries are personal favourites). The Big Three have all carved out their own musical niches and complement each other very well.
When I was a composition and voice student at Berklee in Boston I enjoyed many a repeat play of this piece in my Walkman, in 1988. I can still see the snowflakes spiralling as I walked between Trinity Church and the John Hancock Tower, mesmerized, transfixed, transported by the reflection of the church and the snowflakes in the stunning, reverential, reflective edifice...
Todd Merrell i live for moments like you've just described, and i can completely relate to your state at the time, even if i don't know anythng of you.... The soundtrack of our lives,, always composing itself....Like now, ive listened to Proverbs by Reich while sitting outside, and remembering happier days. How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life...
Ur intelligent, thoughtful description drew an amazing picture in my mind of standing in a forest as the sun sets, watching the flakes drifting down, people laughing, nature...wow.
Without a doubt and by far my favorite piece by Reich. It generates a certain interior calmness as if I have turned away and isolated myself from a frantic world. I feel I am just observing the world, not participating, but disconnecting and giving my soul a moment to itself. I regret I only have one like to give. Dislikes are obviously those without a clue.
I feel the same way about it. My favorite by far from him although I have a soft spot for Music for a Large Ensemble and Octet as these are the first two pieces of his I heard. But this one moves and elevates me like few pieces of music in any genres can.
You know those 2 seconds of that high school band chart you loved when you were younger? That perfect 3/4 note motif over that one perfect chord? That is what listening to this composition feels like. Absolutely chilling.
I used to fall into bed, and listen to late night radio. No matter how terrible my day had been, the soothing voice of John Schaefer (sp?) and the wonderful, mind opening music he played always reassured me that there was a world beyond the troubles and challeges I was facing. Such is the power of new music...to take us to places we might consider going....
It is very gratifying to read the comments here about this piece and the composer whose works I have loved for over forty years. Intelligent, insightful and positive.
Loved this since I came cross it in '84. It feels like you're five again. Or maybe REALLY young, and it's the first time you looked up and saw the sky. It's all there, as are you. Maybe it will be the same when we are in the presence of our creator who only desires us as we do him. "and there will be no more time" Rev 10. . That said, man do the oboes kick the groove on this.
The Skyscraper is the culmination of parametric architecture, algorithmic design, the comprehension of structural analysis and structural dynamics, the wherewithal of the double and triple skin facade, the beginning of high performance design, urban design, system integration, facade dynamics and the full capability of science and mathematics. Steve Reich, a genius of our time, spoke about this with his music, flawlessly.
_"'Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards' (1979) introduces new harmonic, formal and timbre material into my music. The constant yet slow harmonic change (there are no repeat markings in this score), the slow recurrence of materials form variation to variation, and the scoring for oboes, flutes, full brass, strings, acoustic and electric keyboards, all give this piece a sound quite different from my earlier music._ _These variations are on a harmonic progression somewhat in the manner of chaconne, but with a considerably longer harmonic progression than the four or eight bar progressions customarily found in the chaconne. The progression begins in C minor (or C dorian) and works its way via several keys into C-flat, enharmonically to B, and then, by gradually dropping sharps or adding flats, moves slowly back to C minor (or C dorian). These are three variations on the complete cycle lasting approximately six, ten and nine minutes each. The harmonic progression is followed in the middle register so that from time to time the bass may vary from variation to variation. The rhythm of the melodic patterns in the winds remains more or less constant throughout each variation, while the notes slowly, yet constantly, change to match the changing harmony. In the first variation the rhythmic pattern for the winds is two bars long, changing meters back and forth between 6/4 and 5/4. The second variation begins as two bars of alternating 5/4 and 6/4 and, after about a minute, changes into two bars of 8/4, each divided into five plus three. The final variation pattern is four bars long, changing meters 4/4, 6/4, 4/4 and 3/4 Since the first variation uses only quarter and eighth notes, while the second and third introduce an increasing amount of sixteenths, the effect is one of becoming more and florid and melismatic._ _At all times throughout the piece there are at least two wind instruments playing the melodic pattern in harmony with each other, while a third plays in cannon with the upper voice. The winds, three oboes doubled by electric organs, or three flutes doubled by two pianos and electric organs, play the melodic material throughout, while the slowly changing harmonies are played by the strings also doubled by electric organs. During the first and last variation a full brass section of three trumpets, three trombones and tuba gradually fade in and out, to complete the harmony of the middle register strings and organs."_ -Steve Reich
I completely agree with your kid! This is definitely my calm music too. I used to work at my university's library in the media center during the closing night shifts. I would often put this piece on. Fond memories of my quiet time working there.
I just told my long-time partner that I wanted this piece played at my memorial service. This piece, like so much of Reich's, mirrors something that I value so, so much. A sense of rigor AND beauty, grace and precision...
I love it so much! Listening to this makes me grateful for beling alive, just to experiencing this. Amazing Steve.. who gave us so much through his music!
In a 2006 interview Steve said he wasn't that happy with the piece. I think we all agree he was wrong. This is his first orchestral piece and may be his best. The more I listen to it the more I like it. When the massive bass line moves from scale step 5 to 4 I am reminded of great moments in Wagner when the dominant resolves to the subdominant.
@@larkstonguesinaspic4814 i think a lot of artists are not that happy with their work, because there is the feeling like they could do more. But it's not there the problem
I first heard this at the end of a late-night music program on CBC called "Brave New Waves" hosted by a wonderful man named Brent Bambury, in the late '80s or early 90s, and it remains my favorite work in orchestral minimalism. Thank you, Brent.
Heard this for the very first time ...caught this on NPR Knoxville yesterday.... absolutely breathtaking... became the definition of distracted driving... had to pull over to enjoy... sublime. Thank you for posting and leading me to a new undiscovered place!!... I need to investigate more of this composer's catalog.
Indeed. This and Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten which is also one of the most moving pieces of music ever written IMO. But this one has been with me since 1983 and it at once moves me to tears and lifts my soul every time I hear it.
I LOVE this recording, have it my cd collection, and on my old ipod, and on an old LG phone that I use now as an mp3 player!!! It's really one of my TOP favorites of Steve Reich's: was into minimalist music some in the 80s while in grad school, (masters degree in pno performance, but w/composer father and friends) then not listening much in intervening years of teaching, playing, raising a family BUT in the last few years back to listening so much more. THANK you for posting this I just love it. Happy New Year!
I thought this was his masterpiece for a long time. Love it. Then I introduced myself to Music for 18 Musicians, and life never was the same . . . Cheers!
This music makes me think of the feeling you get when youre in an unfamiliar place, But the place is nonetheless a pleasant experience. Exploring a new town, looking around in a new shop youre excited youve found, taking the less beaten path on a hike. The music is naturally explorative, and really evokes memories of curiosity.
I've always loved the "dephasing" effect in Reich's music, it really brought back the kind of things I would wonder about concerning my perception of sounds when I was a kid, and I thought that effect was very strange and even scary
Legitimately couldn't keep a smile off my face listening to this. There is a childlike curiosity here, as if the melody is experiencing, and discovering itself. Carefully, tenderly, but all the while exulting with its own path. Brings me to tears
thanks for posting - i actually had this track on repeat during a 400km trip to melbourne yesterday, which is around 12 times over - keeps me calm while driving, especially in the metro area with all the maniacs about!!
I first heard Steve reich in the late 80s early 90s, he's my favourite modern composer, his music is cinematic and conjures up images of children running through cornfields, that kind of thing, beautiful expansive and full of colours °•●○☆♡
Weed is illegal over here in the UK.....grew my own a few years ago and woke at 4AM...got up and lit a joint while my little family slept, just pottered round the garden...and I listened to Dark Side of the Moon.....changed my life. I'll do the same with this one day....think it might bring me to my knees. xx
@@rektyrektingson4668 Sat on a bench in my town, had a joint, a little slug of whiskey and watched the world go by with this playing. A little old lady came and had a chat about how pretty the leaves falling onto the pavement looked...she gave me a big hug and went on her way. Made me cry! Haha!
This is indeed a wonderful piece of modern music. I hear it while writing, it wraps my mind and yet allows me to focus. I agree to the comment about the brass - wonderfully warm and rich in its ensemble sound. thanks for posting this.
This is one of my favourite pieces, but it's one that appears to have had few recorded performances; De Waart's is the one I have, and the only one I could find on cd. I love the fast, circular phrases of the woodwinds and keyboard parts set against the glacial chordal brass passages.
I remember when I first heard the opening to Music for 18 Musicians and it was like my ears being introduced to a completely new and unimagined world of sound. There was one other occasion that I had a similar experience when I first heard Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
What I truly love about this composition is that Reich doesn't rely on a battery of percussion instruments to give the "colour" to the work, as so many modern day composers do.
The sence of completeness that I get from this repeated listening for 20 years ....I feel whole after I immerse myself in this simply peerless composition
Ho ecoperto pet caso steve reich. In un mercatino delle pulci ho comprato dei cd di musica dagli albori af oggi. Nellultimo cd c'era il suo pezzo: musica per mallet voices ecc.. ho avutp una folgorazione. In quel momento volavo verso l'infinito. Vedevo il mio corpo sil divano ma ero nell'aldila'. Da allora non posso fare a meno di sentire la sua musica. E' un nutrimento per la mia anima. Non ho bisogno di piu' niente. Grazie mister Reich.
Beautiful piece. Those erie, dark low brass swells near the end must be a nod to Bernard Hermann...so similar to the Taxi Driver score to my ears, but a completely different context. Stunning.
Interesting comment Andrew. I'm not normally in favour of comparing one composer's work against another's, but you really do make a valid point here. Brilliant.
I discovered Steve Reich whilst at Uni and being subjected to the likes of Berio, Xenakis and Boulez etc. Not surprisingly my composition teacher (as well as many in the 'Society for Promotion of New Music') could not accept this sort of music - one lady even said, 'I don't know how they have the nerve!'. Well, I don't know how the Stockhausens and the Dallapiccolas and their ilk had the nerve to write music that is utterly unlistenable. As far as I am concerned minimalist music may sometimes be too simple but that is never true of Reich. I studied 'Different Trains' and the excellent 'Desert Music' for my final year dissertation. Time spent with Steve Reich - however atomically measured - is never wasted.
Agreed. Why must people in academia become so arrogant...anyone who knows their history should know that they they sound like the people who rejected Beethoven and Stravinsky, or WAM.
Sure, but when you say things like Stockhausen and his "ilk" wrote music "utterly unlistenable," you sound just like the arrogant academics you're complaining about. Why not just say people like what they like and leave it at that? There are plenty of artists and composers I can't stand, but that doesn't mean they're "unlistenable." How can I say that when there are millions of people who disagree with me. To each their own. Live and let live.
@@CptSchmidt that's true. i have taken the approach since i turned 40 that if i dont like the music of a well regarded composer, that i just have not accessed it yet. there are some that i appreciate and listen to on occasion, like scriabin or liszt, that are not favorites. but they are favorites of people whom i like and whose taste i respect....and Anthony Braxton whose playing i love loves Stockhausen. so....
Some months ago i was against my accademia for the approch but... Now i feel lucky because even if i have to study there Stockhausen and Berio none of the teacher would ever say Reich's music is unsustainable... And it is really not that simple: permutations and counterpoint are simple? Jesus, the most crucial Part is that it is enjoyable, not that obvious if we are talking of contemporary music, plus no one compose like him. You could wake up in the morning with the Intention to compose like that and surprise, it's not your stile, it's Steve Reich. Beside that you can complain about the length or everything else, in my opinion and for the rest of the world Steve reich is a pioneer of a Genre
I keep coming back to this particular video to listen to it regularly. It is almost a meditation enhancer. I refer to it on other RU-vid sites as well.
The imagery you edited into the music is great. Slow animations -- linear shifts and zooms -- wonderfully subtle and calming. Thank you for bringing this to life. // Years ago this was the soundtrack looping in my studio space while I worked on complex art constructions. It shaped my attention to a finely pointed focus. Razor sharp.
Its intresting to hear faster and slower versions of this. I think this tempo is perfect though. Those brass swells have so much drama and presence its insane
And I thought Max Richter transcended everything....how could I not have heard this till now? It's fascinating, magical, entrancing....it's the sun dancing on the water, sparkling, heart warming and emotional.
This is the same recording by the SfSo that I got hold of many years ago. I first heard this on a frosty October morning in London, the morning after an interview at BBC Broadcasting House in the early 80s. I just came across it on BBC Radio 3 in my hotel room, looking out at the majestic profile of the iconic BBC building with steam rising from the air conditioning plant and all of the bustle of London beyond. It seemed very apt somehow. Now this piece is very evocative of those early days of ambition and the emergent sophistication of my early adult years. It also inspired a greater interest in classical music.
A sublime, ethereal oddity by Reich. The pathos and awe are almost painful at times, but the backdrop of strings is calming and supports the constant changes (variations) that happen within each alteration of timbre. The syncopated and contrapuntal melodies are (within this context) free to develop, alter, ebb and flow until the composer felt that a (timbral and melodic) change was necessary.
My first hearing of this work, and what a beauty! If there is a repeating beat structure here it is buried pretty deep- I tried to discern it, nothing seems to happen more than three times, nor are any three measures the same length. Or does it just SEEM that way?
hearn gadbois the first section of the piece is in an 11-beat phrase length that repeats, then midway through the piece it’s in a 16-beat phrase length (good old 4/4). Toward the end of the piece the phrase length is 17 beats! I don’t have the score so I’m not sure how he divided up the measures.
Reich never wrote anything like this ever again. This beautiful Chaccone holds a unique place in his output. All the more baffling then that Reich had turned his back on it. He came to Glasgow a few years ago and stated that he felt his (tiny) orchestral output was poorly orchestrated. Reich is so perfect to listen to when travelling because it is the only music ever written which feels Adagio and Presto at one and the same time. I think this work is ravishing. Everything is voiced beautifully to my ears. I think it's a great shame that Reich didn't write more for the orchestra. Then again his Three Movements and the Concerto for Orchestra "The Four Sections" are not a patch on this curio from 1979. For me Reich"s golden era was roughly the decade between 1975 - 1985. He is by far my favourite of the Minimalists. The daddy of them all.
