Reich Ensemble challenges views

Steve Reich is one of the foremost living composers and widely regarded as one of the principal figures in Minimalism. The popularity of his music is a result of his unique style and powerful performance.

Reich is typically grouped together with other first generation minimalist composers, such as Philip Glass and La Monte Young. His music embraces not only aspects of Western Classical music, but also the structures, harmonies and rhythms of non-Western and American Vernacular music, particularly jazz.

His music is deeply "American" in its roots, with an unrelenting pulse and short, repeating melodic figures often compared to rock-and-roll.

Reich and his 18-member ensemble have frequently toured the world, and have distinction of performing to sold-out houses at venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall and the Bottom Line Cabaret.

Courtesy of IMG Artists Steve Reich and Beryl Korot will perform tomorrow at the Michigan Theater.

His combination of repetition and process creates music full of vitality and energy. His music has been described as "anti-academic," challenging the conventions of early musicians.

His unique insight has earned him the 1986 Bessie Award for the ballet, "Impact" and an election to the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1994.

Reich's music is also largely influenced by European forms and techniques, generally viewed as a response to the largely academic, elitist climate of new music in the 1950s and '60s.

Like many other artists, Reich uses his music as an expression of the past. Known for their emotion and power, his pieces serve as a medium of communication - giving the audience a taste of his life experiences.

The pieces that Reich will perform this weekend serve this purpose. He begins with the first two parts of a piece entitled, "Drumming." Reich will continue with a string quartet called "Different Trains," which won the 1990 Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary Composition.

"Different Trains" is a musical illustration of his journeys across the United States as a young boy. Being Jewish and growing up in the '40s, Reich understood how different his reality would be if he lived in Europe - that he would be riding a different train with an alternative destination.

The ensemble will also perform Reich's new video opera, "Hindenburg," with video artist Beryl Korot. An early pioneer of video art, particularly multiple-channel work, Korot is responsible for the documentary portion of the piece.

Reich's music has influenced other areas of the music world. His new record, "Reich Remixed," is packed with top DJs around the world remixing Reich's composition into techno dance music. The new album includes artist such as Cold Cut, Howie B., Andrea Parker and many others.

"Steve Reich has greatly contributed to what dance music is today," said Mark Jacobson, a programming director at the University.

According to The New York Times writer Bernard Holland, "Mr. Reich at his best has managed to rearrange our thoughts of what beauty and purpose in music really are."

Tickets for the Steve Reich Ensemble are $16-28. Call 764-2538 for tickets and more

information.

04-09-99