Steve Reich’s newest work – In All Your Ways – is premiered at Edinburgh International Festival this August ahead of worldwide celebrations for the composer’s 90th birthday in October.
Performed by long-standing collaborators the Colin Currie Group, the new work is scored for a classic Reich large ensemble line-up of double flutes and clarinets, mallet percussion, piano duo and string quartet.
As well as EIF the new 18-minute work was co-commissioned by Barbican Centre London, Philharmonie de Paris, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Grafenegg Festival in Austria, Helsinki Festival, NTR ZaterdagMatinee in The Netherlands, Avex Classics International for Japan, plus North American commissioners Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, UC Berkeley, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and Soundstreams, where performances are also given by Bang on a Can All-Stars and Ensemble Signal.
Although purely instrumental, In All Your Ways joins the selection of Reich works inspired by Biblical texts. Steve Reich explains:
“Just before In All Your Ways, I wrote two pieces that set religious texts for voices and ensemble. I relied on the texts for both their syllabic structure and their meaning. For this new piece, I wanted a similar text — even if there were no singers. “In all your ways” is the opening of Proverbs 3:6, and a four-note instrumental ‘setting’ of those words can be heard, now and then, throughout the work. The piece is divided into four rhythmic sections: sixteenths, eighths, quarters, and triplets. These sections are repeated, more or less in that order, throughout. There are four harmonic sections: three sharps, two flats, five flats, and all naturals. Each signature may be major, minor, or modal. These harmonic sections are similarly repeated. However, the combination of rhythmic values and key signatures sometimes varies from section to section.”
The performances form just one strand of an exciting series of concerts and festivals worldwide focusing on the music of Steve Reich over the 2026/27 season and beyond.
