A highly influential avant-garde composer and one of the key founders of the minimalist school of music, Reich has embraced a wide variety of musical styles and interests, forging from them a unique synthesis. Reich took piano lessons as a youngster, but his first big musical revelations came at 14, when he encountered the music of Bach and Stravinsky. He also had his first exposure to bebop, and immediately started learning drums and playing in a jazz band with friends. He played on weekends while studying at Cornell, which he entered at age 16 and where he received a degree in philosophy, specializing in the work of Wittgenstein. In 1957, he entered Juilliard, studying with William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti (and meeting fellow student Philip Glass). Here Reich first heard 12-tone music; he got a further dose of it during graduate ...
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Composition Highlights

Title Year Avg. Duration Genre
Drumming, for 2 female voices, piccolo, 4 pairs of bongos, 3 marimbas & 3 glockenspiels 1971 01:09:12 Vocal Music Avant-Garde Music
Come Out, for tape 1966 12:59 Electronic/Computer Music
Tehillim, for 3 sopranos, alto, winds, strings, percussion & keyboards 1981 30:59 Vocal Music
The Desert Music, for small chorus & large orchestra 1984 47:18 Choral
Music for 18 Musicians, for 4 female voices & 16 instruments 1976 59:46 Vocal Music Avant-Garde Music
New York Counterpoint, for clarinet, bass clarinet & tape 1985 11:16 Chamber Music Avant-Garde Music
Vermont Counterpoint, for piccolo, flutes & tape 1982 09:28 Chamber Music Avant-Garde Music
Different Trains, for double string quartet & tape 1988 26:58 Chamber Music
The Cave, multimedia theater work for piano, sampling keyboards & voice of Neville Chamberlain 1993 01:32:49 Show/Musical
Eight Lines (revision of "Octet"), for chamber orchestra 1979 17:43 Chamber Music Orchestral
Electric Counterpoint, for electric guitar, bass guitar & tape 1987 14:34 Chamber Music
Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ, for 3 female voices, 3 marimbas, 3 glockenspiels, vibes & organ 1973 17:19 Vocal Music Avant-Garde Music
Octet, for 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bass clarinets, 2 pianos, 2 violins, viola & cello (revised as "Eight Lines") 1978 17:33 Chamber Music
Clapping Music, for 2 performers 1972 04:02 Chamber Music Avant-Garde Music
Six Pianos 1973 22:37 Keyboard
Piano Phase, for 2 pianos (or 2 marimbas) 1967 17:29 Keyboard Avant-Garde Music
Four Organs, for 4 electric organs & maracas 1970 18:03 Chamber Music Keyboard
Music for a Large Ensemble, for 2 female voices and small orchestra 1978 15:28 Vocal Music
Music for Pieces of Wood, for 5 pairs of tuned claves 1973 10:25 Chamber Music
Nagoya Marimbas, for 2 marimbas 1994 04:51 Chamber Music Avant-Garde Music
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Steve Reich
photo credit: Jay Blakesberg

Steve Reich - Artist Details

Active

1960s - 2010s

Musical Period

20th Century, Contemporary

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Also Known As

Stephen Michael Reich
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