Steve Reich Concert Series (I/II) — With Steve Reich and Colin Currie Group
Fondation Louis Vuitton
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Cast
Steve Reich — Clapping
Colin Currie — Clapping
Colin Currie Group
Colin Currie — Conductor, percussionist
Program notes
Conductor and master percussionist Colin Currie spearheads a dazzling homage to Steve Reich, legend of American music and champion of minimalism, at Paris’s Fondation Louis Vuitton! Throughout this proudly modern program, which blends lightness of touch with metronomic precision, the artists of the Colin Currie Group—specialists in Reich’s repertoire—demonstrate their dizzying virtuosity and meticulous attention to detail, essential qualities to bring to the work of the New York-born genius.
Reich himself kicks off the festivities here, joining Currie onstage for an impeccable rendition of his Clapping Music, an ingenious play on the complexities of microrhythms that stimulates the mind as well as any sweeping melody. Currie and his group then move on to the Quartet for Two Pianos and Two Vibraphones and, finally, Drumming, all beautifully spotlighting Reich's technique of phase music—a playhouse for the musicians' incredible energy and jaw-dropping precision that plays uncannily on the ear as multiple nearly identical motifs cycle in and out of rhythm. The evening concludes with an interview with the composer, who offers up bits of wisdom gleaned over the decades and a captivating glimpse at his rich artistic vision.
