Steve Reich performed at London's Royal Albert Hall last night as part of an all-Reich program with Ensemble Modern for the BBC Proms. The concert is now available online. "There could be no better way of celebrating Steve Reich’s 75th birthday than with a performance of his Music for 18 Musicians," says the Independent in its five-star review, "and the packed hall for this late-night Prom testified to the size and devotion of his fan-club." The Guardian says the concert helped mark Reich's "ongoing acceptance into the pantheon of the greats of the western classical tradition."

Steve Reich performs at London's Royal Albert Hall tonight as part of an all-Reich program with Ensemble Modern for the BBC Proms. The concert, which marks the composer's 75th birthday year, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. "His work using looped taped voices was not only original," writes the Guardian, "but created stunning, fluid sounds which still impress today ... In a Proms season that contains many treasures, Reich's performance ... stands out." MusicOMH gives Reich's forthcoming album four stars, calling its WTC 9/11 "a stark and fascinating addition to his oeuvre."

Nonesuch Records recently published the cover of the forthcoming album featuring Steve Reich's WTC 9/11, performed by Kronos Quartet. The cover and our publishing of it have elicited a considerable response both on this website and elsewhere. Nonesuch Records President Robert Hurwitz offers a comment.

Celebrations of Steve Reich's 75th year continue with The Reich Effect, a five-day festival presented by the Cork Opera House in Cork City, Ireland, starting today. The composer will participate in a number of events at the festival, which also features performances of more than a dozen of his works, including the Irish premiere of his WTC 9/11, performed by Kronos Quartet. Reich's influence "on contemporary music is layered into almost every genre," says the Irish Times. "His minimalist innovations have certainly gone far beyond the confines of classical composition."

Composers Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, and Philip Glass, and Nonesuch Records President Robert Hurwitz have all contributed to the BBC Radio 3 documentary 50 Years of Minimalism in Music, which aired this past Saturday night. They and a number of other music pioneers spoke with American conductor Richard Bernas in this look back at five decades of Minimalism, "the musical language of our time." The program is available online at bbc.co.uk.

Steve Reich was the guest of honor at the Barbican in London for Reverberations, a weekend-long music marathon exploring his music and influence, featuring Kronos Quartet in the European premiere of his WTC 9/11. The Daily Telegraph gives Reverberations a perfect five stars, saying that while Reich's "influence has been massive ... it was the innocence and shy ecstasy of Reich’s own music that left the deepest impression." The Times and Evening Standard give the festival four stars. Kronos gives the Scottish premiere of WTC 9/11 this Friday for the weekend's Kronos in Glasgow festival.

Kronos Quartet will give the European premiere of Steve Reich's WTC 9/11—the composer's musical response to the attacks of September 11, 2001—at London's Barbican Hall this weekend, following Saturday's NY premiere at Carnegie Hall. The New Yorker's Alex Ross writes: "It is a dark, raw, haunting piece, its detached fury indicative of the undiminished powers of a great American artist who will celebrate his 75th birthday in October." Nonesuch will release the first recording of WTC 9/11 in September. You can listen to an excerpt of the recording here. [Ed: Excerpt no longer available.]

Steve Reich's 75th was celebrated in style at Carnegie Hall Saturday night with an all-Reich concert that included the NY premieres of WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, and 2x5 and a performance of Double Sextet. Carnegie Hall "assembled a starry roster of new-music ensembles," says the New York Times, "and the results will be hard to top." NPR says the concert showed that Reich "continues to make innovative music and is still one of the most important and influential voices of our era." The pieces "were individually marvelous," says SPIN, "and collectively provided a terrific summing up of what Reich is all about ... [E]very piece of the evening was a small miracle." The composer and performers head next to London for Reverberations, the Barbican's two-day celebration of Reich's work and influences.

Steve Reich and his latest piece, WTC 9/11, are featured in the Wall Street Journal. Kronos Quartet will give the piece its NYC premiere at Carnegie Hall this Saturday as part of an all-Reich, multi-artist concert celebrating the composer's 75th birth year. Time Out New York calls it "a program suited to its festive occasion." The Barbican in London celebrates the following weekend with Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich; enter to win tickets and more.

Tune in to hear Steve Reich today on WNYC's Soundcheck. The composer will discuss his latest piece, WTC 9/11, which will be given its NY premiere in a performance by Kronos Quartet this Saturday at Carnegie Hall, in an all-Reich concert celebrating his 75th birth year. (Listen to a recent Q2 program on the Carnegie Hall concert here.) Also on today's Soundcheck is a live set from Timothy Andres, who was recently named one of the top 100 Composers Under 40 by NPR and Q2. Soundcheck names Emmylou Harris's Hard Bargain a Pick of the Week.