Steve Reich Featured in Kraków's Sacrum Profanum Festival; Reich, Jonny Greenwood Perform in Opening Concert on Polish Radio

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Steve Reich is in Kraków, Poland, for the ninth annual Sacrum Profanum festival, which gets under way on Sunday with an inaugural concert broadcast on Polish Radio 2. The week-long festival offers a retrospective of some of the composer's most iconic works, along with newer additions to his repertoire, and features performances by Jonny Greenwood, Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ensemble Modern, Aphex Twin, Tom Verlaine, and the composer himself.

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Steve Reich is in Kraków, Poland, for the ninth annual Sacrum Profanum festival, which gets under way on Sunday, marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The week-long festival offers a retrospective of some of the composer's most iconic works, as well as newer additions to his rich repertoire, like 2x5 and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet.

The festival, which Reich has described as "one of the best new-music festivals in the world," begins with an Opening Night concert on Sunday featuring three works by Reich—Daniel Variations, Electric Counterpoint, and Music for 18 Musicians—paired with the world premiere of a new work by Polish composer Paweł Mykietyn. Reich will perform in the concert, as will Ensemble Modern, led by conductor Brad Lubman, and special guest Jonny Greenwood, who will perform Electric Counterpoint, a piece originally written for Pat Metheny. The concert will be held in the Electrolytic Tinning Plant of ArcelorMittal Poland in Kraków and will be broadcast live on Polish Radio 2, as will all of the Reich programs in the festival. For more information on the broadcast and to listen in live online at 7:30 PM local time, go to polskieradio.pl.

The following day includes two concerts. In the first, Alarm Will Sound, led by conductor Alan Pierson, will perform four works by John AdamsCoast, Chamber Symphony, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, and Son of Chamber Symphony, which is featured on his latest album—along with a new piece by Polish composer Aleksandra Gryka, at the Museum of Urban Engineering. Later that evening at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre, Lubman and Ensemble Modern return to perform Steve Reich's 2001 collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot, Three Tales, their cautionary multimedia triptych about 20th-century technological advances.

On Tuesday, following a program focused on the work of David Lang by Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Modern and Synergy Vocals reunite for another all-Reich program at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre: Tehillim and Different Trains, in which Reich evokes his American childhood during World War II while also addressing the Holocaust.

On Wednesday, following a program dedicated to the work of Julia Wolfe performed by Asko | Schönberg, the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre will host another all-Reich program, this time with the Ensemble Modern performing Eight Lines, Triple Quartet, and City Life.

Thursdays concerts begin with Terry Riley's minimalist classic In C, after which Steve Reich joins Bang on a Can All-Stars for the evening's all-Reich program at Łaźnia Nowa. In addition to earlier works New York Counterpoint, Video Phase, and Clapping Music, the program includes two works paired on Reich's last Nonesuch release, Pulitzer Prize winner Double Sextet and 2x5, the latter of which Bang on a Can performed on the album.

On Friday night, Reich's Six Marimbas will be included on a program of works by Bang on a Can co-founders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe performed by Amadrums in the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre.

The Sacrum Profanum festival closes on Saturday night with a concert titled Reich 75, honoring the composer's 75th birthday, which takes place next month. Performing at the ArcelorMittal Tinning Plant are the composer himself along with Aphex Twin, Adrian Utley of Portishead, Tom Verlaine of Television, Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, and more.

For more information on the festival, visit sacrumprofanum.com. You can watch a brief promo video of the festival, featuring an excerpt of Reich's 2x5, below.

To pick up a copy of any of the albums in the Steve Reich Nonesuch catalog, visit the Nonesuch Store. You can also pre-order his forthcoming album, WTC 9/11, there to receive a download of the title piece upon checkout and the complete album starting release day, September 20.

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Steve Reich: Sacrum Profanum, September 2011
  • Friday, September 9, 2011
    Steve Reich Featured in Kraków's Sacrum Profanum Festival; Reich, Jonny Greenwood Perform in Opening Concert on Polish Radio

    Steve Reich is in Kraków, Poland, for the ninth annual Sacrum Profanum festival, which gets under way on Sunday, marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The week-long festival offers a retrospective of some of the composer's most iconic works, as well as newer additions to his rich repertoire, like 2x5 and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet.

    The festival, which Reich has described as "one of the best new-music festivals in the world," begins with an Opening Night concert on Sunday featuring three works by Reich—Daniel Variations, Electric Counterpoint, and Music for 18 Musicians—paired with the world premiere of a new work by Polish composer Paweł Mykietyn. Reich will perform in the concert, as will Ensemble Modern, led by conductor Brad Lubman, and special guest Jonny Greenwood, who will perform Electric Counterpoint, a piece originally written for Pat Metheny. The concert will be held in the Electrolytic Tinning Plant of ArcelorMittal Poland in Kraków and will be broadcast live on Polish Radio 2, as will all of the Reich programs in the festival. For more information on the broadcast and to listen in live online at 7:30 PM local time, go to polskieradio.pl.

    The following day includes two concerts. In the first, Alarm Will Sound, led by conductor Alan Pierson, will perform four works by John AdamsCoast, Chamber Symphony, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, and Son of Chamber Symphony, which is featured on his latest album—along with a new piece by Polish composer Aleksandra Gryka, at the Museum of Urban Engineering. Later that evening at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre, Lubman and Ensemble Modern return to perform Steve Reich's 2001 collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot, Three Tales, their cautionary multimedia triptych about 20th-century technological advances.

    On Tuesday, following a program focused on the work of David Lang by Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Modern and Synergy Vocals reunite for another all-Reich program at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre: Tehillim and Different Trains, in which Reich evokes his American childhood during World War II while also addressing the Holocaust.

    On Wednesday, following a program dedicated to the work of Julia Wolfe performed by Asko | Schönberg, the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre will host another all-Reich program, this time with the Ensemble Modern performing Eight Lines, Triple Quartet, and City Life.

    Thursdays concerts begin with Terry Riley's minimalist classic In C, after which Steve Reich joins Bang on a Can All-Stars for the evening's all-Reich program at Łaźnia Nowa. In addition to earlier works New York Counterpoint, Video Phase, and Clapping Music, the program includes two works paired on Reich's last Nonesuch release, Pulitzer Prize winner Double Sextet and 2x5, the latter of which Bang on a Can performed on the album.

    On Friday night, Reich's Six Marimbas will be included on a program of works by Bang on a Can co-founders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe performed by Amadrums in the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre.

    The Sacrum Profanum festival closes on Saturday night with a concert titled Reich 75, honoring the composer's 75th birthday, which takes place next month. Performing at the ArcelorMittal Tinning Plant are the composer himself along with Aphex Twin, Adrian Utley of Portishead, Tom Verlaine of Television, Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, and more.

    For more information on the festival, visit sacrumprofanum.com. You can watch a brief promo video of the festival, featuring an excerpt of Reich's 2x5, below.

    To pick up a copy of any of the albums in the Steve Reich Nonesuch catalog, visit the Nonesuch Store. You can also pre-order his forthcoming album, WTC 9/11, there to receive a download of the title piece upon checkout and the complete album starting release day, September 20.

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