Having turned his back on the medium in 1987, Steve Reich has returned to orchestral writing for a new 20’ score commissioned and premiered by several of the world’s most renowned orchestras.
Titled Music for Ensemble and Orchestra, its premiere under Susanna Mälkki formed one centrepiece of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s centennial celebrations during November 2018 and it now comes to London for its European premiere by the London Symphony Orchestra under Kristjan Järvi.
One of the most anticipated new orchestral scores in years, the premiere performance was described in the New Yorker as “a vista of shimmering desert stillness” and goes on to be given by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Baltic Sea Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic. It also has performances this season with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas, who between them gave the premiere of Reich’s last orchestral score, The Four Sections, in 1987.
You can read an interview with the composer about the new work on the Boosey and Hawkes website.
In spring 2019 Steve Reich’s music opens The Shed – a new multidisciplinary arts venue in New York, in a collaboration with Gerhard Richter, a giant of the contemporary art scene. Further performances worldwide will be announced in due course.
