Saturday, February 5, 2022

Fascinating Rhythm

But not by George Gershwin! I just discovered an excellent performance of two pieces by Steve Reich on YouTube:

This is a concert from 2016 at Lincoln Center. A particularly nice performance of Music for 18 Musicians that seems to catch just the right tempo. That starts around the 23:40 mark. I've been listening to that piece for some thirty years now and it keeps fascinating me. I used to puzzle over how it could be notated before I finally got a look at the score. You can see it online at the Boosey and Hawkes site. Another thing that fascinates me is how the sections are cued: just watch the glockenspiel player, he signals each one. The marvellous combinations of instruments create so many different timbres. And then there are the rhythms and interlocking combinations of rhythms. It is such an odd piece, viewed from the perspective of traditional composition. But what a successful one!

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