Steve Reich has been called “America’s greatest living composer.” (The Village VOICE), “...the most original musical thinker of our time” (The New Yorker) and “...among the great composers of the century” (New York Times).
His music has influenced composers and mainstream musicians all over the world. Music for 18 Musicians and Different Trains have earned him two GRAMMY awards, and in 2009 his Double Sextet won the Pulitzer Prize. His documentary video opera works - The Cave and Three Tales, made in collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot - have been performed on four continents.
In 2012 he was awarded the Gold Medal in Music by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Earlier he won the Preamium Imperale in Tokyo, the Polar Prize in Stockholm, the BBVA Award in Madrid and recently the Golden Lion at the Biennale di Venezia. he has been named Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et lettres and has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Juilliard School, The Liszt Acadmey in Budapest and the New England Conservatory of Music among others.
His 80th birthday in 2016 was marked with over 400 performances in more than 20 countries across the globe celebrating his music and legacy. Two new works received world premieres in autumn 2016: Pulse by the International Contemporary Ensemble and David Robertson at Carnegie Hall; and Runner at London’s Royal Ballet accompanied by new choreography by Wayne McGregor. Several presenters gave concert series and residencies to honour his anniversary, including Lincoln Center, San Francisco Symphony, the Barbican Centre London, Tokyo Opera City, and Carnegie Hall.
During autumn 2018 Reich’s first major orchestral score in 30 years, Music for Ensemble and Orchestra, was given its world premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki and had subsequent performances by London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Baltic Sea Philharmonic orchestras. His collaboration with renowned artist Gerhard Richter for the opening of The Shed in New York City premiered in April 2019. Titled Reich/Richter, the 37-minute work for 14 players explores the shared sensory language of visual art and music.
“There’s just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them” states The Guardian.
Steve Reich is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.
Music for Ensemble and Orchestra
this is a beautiful and dramatically charged masterpiece, but its impact goes even further than that. The piece is simultaneously retrospective and venturesome. It rests solidly on the stylistic foundations of Reich’s unique musical voice while dashing off in new and daring directions. It combines the assurance of a seasoned master with the restless daring of a young artist. It’s the finest thing he’s done in years.
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
Best by far was Reich’s new work, Music for Ensemble and Orchestra.... Reich has never lost his intellectual rigour, and this new score is constructed on a foundation of strong principles. As an ensemble of strings, wind, two vibraphones and two pianos converse in an intricate dialogue, the orchestral background opens up a rich and wider soundscape. The work’s multiple layers draw the listener in and do not let go, a rewarding addition to 50 years of minimalism
Richard Fairman, Financial Times
breathtakingly beauteous and perfectly pitched work....you knew only one composer could have written this. Reich is not a composer who, at this point of his celebrated career, needs to reinvent himself. But it is great news to have him back with the orchestra
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
the music’s delightful dancing wit, and the moving, almost ritualistic calm of the slow movement, shone through
Ivan Hewitt, Daily Telegraph
a vista of shimmering desert stillness
Alex Ross, The New Yorker
Reich, whose first orchestral work for more than 30 years recalls the focussed euphoria of Desert Music in succinct form, with rapt coupling of solo violin, flute and musky clarinets
Anna Picard, The Times
Steve Reich Reviewed in Gramophone
Gramophone Review
James McCarthy reviews Steve Reich in Gramophone (November 2012)
A Guide to Steve Reich’s Music
Tom Service, The Guardian
Tom Service's Guide to Steve Reich's Music in the Guardian
Steve Reich at 80 - previews and profiles
Barbican Centre London, November 2016
Kerry O'Brien reviews Steve Reich in The New York Times
