Steve Reich at 90: Triple Quartet + After Dark

These three leading UK quartets are each known for their insights into contemporary music and their adventurous programming.

They come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of a musician who has influenced generations of fellow composers.

Reich’s iconic Different Trains presented in a special version for large ensemble combines live music with recorded speech and sound. Snatches of conversation and the rhythms of spoken language shape the music, as Reich reflects on his own childhood train journeys in the US alongside the experiences of Holocaust survivors in Europe.

The result is music of striking immediacy, where Reich’s distinctive processes of repetition and variation are harnessed to convey powerful meaning.

In WTC 9/11, Reich uses recordings of voices to create a piece which evokes the attacks on the World Trade Center as they unfolded and recalls the experiences of people who were in lower Manhattan that day.

Reich notes that WTC also stands for ‘world to come’, and the third and final movement includes the voices of those who sat shmira, the Jewish ritual of watching over the deceased until burial, which continued for seven months after the attacks.

Finally a rare opportunity to experience Reich’s Triple Quartet performed entirely live. More often heard with pre-recorded parts, the piece layers intricate musical patterns into dense, driving textures, creating a sound world of tightly controlled energy.

Following the performance in the hall, enjoy the second half of the double bill in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer.