The Desert Music

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Reich’s 1985 Nonesuch debut, incorporating poem fragments from William Carlos Williams, was also his first work for large orchestra and chorus; Michael Tilson Thomas conducts. The New York Times praised its “ingenious craft, transfixing rhythmic energy, and gorgeous sound.”

Description

Reich’s 1985 Nonesuch debut, incorporating poem fragments from William Carlos Williams, was also his first work for large orchestra and chorus; Michael Tilson Thomas conducts. The New York Times praised its “ingenious craft, transfixing rhythmic energy, and gorgeous sound.”

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Rudolph Werner and Steve Reich
Recording Engineer: Paul Goodman
Editing and Mixing: Karl-August Naegler, Wolf-Dieter Karwatki, Rudolph Werner, John Newton, and Steve Reich
Recorded October 29 and 30, 1984, at RCA Studio A, New York City
Mastering: Robert C. Ludwig

Music by Steve Reich
Text by William Carlos Williams

Art direction and design: Carin Goldberg
Cover photo: Benno Friedman

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79101

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
92
ns_album_id
272
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Steve Reich
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Steve Reich and Musicians
with
Members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Russell Hartenberger, Robert Becker, Glen Velez, Garry Kvistad, principal percussion
Julie Rosenfeld, concertmistress
Deborah Redding, principal second violin
Francesca Martin, principal viola
Sharon Palmer, principal cello
Donald Palma, principal bass
Cheryl Bensman, choral contractor, soprano

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597910124BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
603497091867
Slug
the-desert-music-digital-mp3-album
  • 79101

News & Reviews

  • "Steve Reich was a very important part of my listening," Brian Eno tells the New York Times' Ezra Klein. "All of his work, I think, depends on making your brain perform and watch itself performing in a certain way. So I suddenly thought then, ‘Oh, the composer isn’t just Steve Reich. It’s Steve Reich and my brain that’s making this composition what it is.’ And that thought never left me, that you actually are engaging the technology of the listener’s brain to complete the piece. They’re not passive.” You can watch and hear their conversation here.

  • Composer Steve Reich, whose new album, Jacob's Ladder / Traveler's Prayer, and the 27-disc box set Collected Works were recently released on Nonesuch, stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. He chose recordings by Kronos Quartet, John Adams, and Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, and from the Nonesuch Explorer Series in Bali and Ghana. You can watch it here.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Reich’s 1985 Nonesuch debut, incorporating poem fragments from William Carlos Williams, was also his first work for large orchestra and chorus; Michael Tilson Thomas conducts. The New York Times praised its “ingenious craft, transfixing rhythmic energy, and gorgeous sound.”

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Steve Reich and Musicians
    with
    Members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic
    Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
    Russell Hartenberger, Robert Becker, Glen Velez, Garry Kvistad, principal percussion
    Julie Rosenfeld, concertmistress
    Deborah Redding, principal second violin
    Francesca Martin, principal viola
    Sharon Palmer, principal cello
    Donald Palma, principal bass
    Cheryl Bensman, choral contractor, soprano

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Rudolph Werner and Steve Reich
    Recording Engineer: Paul Goodman
    Editing and Mixing: Karl-August Naegler, Wolf-Dieter Karwatki, Rudolph Werner, John Newton, and Steve Reich
    Recorded October 29 and 30, 1984, at RCA Studio A, New York City
    Mastering: Robert C. Ludwig

    Music by Steve Reich
    Text by William Carlos Williams

    Art direction and design: Carin Goldberg
    Cover photo: Benno Friedman

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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