Pulse / Quartet

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Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet includes the world-premiere recordings of Pulse, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Quartet, played by the Colin Currie Group. The Los Angeles Times notes the "lyricism, gorgeous instrumental textures and affecting harmonies" of Pulse, and the New York Times says of Quartet: "Written for two vibraphones and two pianos, Quartet is Mr. Reich's first piece for those two instruments alone, and the combination is ingenious and seductive, and deployed with subtle craftsmanship."

Description

Nonesuch releases Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet on February 2, 2018; the album is also available on vinyl LP on March 30. Pulse (2015) is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble—an artist collective committed to transforming the way music is created and experienced—and Quartet (2013) is played by the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble led by percussionist Colin Currie that specializes in the music of Steve Reich; these are also the ensembles that gave the world premiere performances of the respective works.

Reich says, "Pulse, for winds, strings, piano and electric bass, was completed in 2015 and was, in part, a reaction to Quartet, in which I changed keys more frequently than in any previous work. In Pulse I felt the need to stay put harmonically and spin out smoother wind and string melodic lines in canon over a constant pulse in the electric bass and or piano. From time to time this constant pulse is accented differently through changing hand alternation patterns on the piano. All in all, a calmer more contemplative piece."

He continues, "Quartet, when mentioned in the context of concert music, is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In my case, the quartet that has played a central role in many of my pieces (besides the string quartet) is that of two pianos and two percussion. It appears like that or in expanded form with more pianos or more percussion in The Desert Music; Sextet; Three Movements; The Four Sections; The Cave; Dance Patterns; Three Tales; You Are (Variations); Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings; Daniel Variations; Double Sextet; and Radio Rewrite. In Quartet, there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.

"The piece is one of the more complex I have composed. It frequently changes key and often breaks off continuity to pause or take up new material. Though the parts are not unduly difficult, it calls for a high level of ensemble virtuosity. The form is one familiar throughout history: fast, slow, fast, played without pause. The slow movement introduces harmonies not usually found in my music."

Steve Reich has been called "our greatest living composer" (New York Times) and "the most original musical thinker of our time" (New Yorker). His path has embraced not only Western Classical music, but the structures, harmonies, and rhythms of non-Western and American vernacular music, particularly jazz. "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. In April 2009 Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Double Sextet. Nonesuch has released twenty-three Steve Reich albums, beginning in 1985 with The Desert Music and including two box sets; his most recent album was Radio Rewrite (2014).

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Pulse
Produced by Judith Sherman
Recorded May 28, 2017, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY
Engineered by John Kilgore
Production Assistant: Jeanne Velonis
Commissioned by Carnegie Hall; the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director; the Barbican, London; KölnMusik - Kölner Philharmonie; and Philharmonie de Paris.
World Premiere: November 1, 2016, by International Contemporary Ensemble, conducted by David Robertson at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY.

Quartet
Produced by Judith Sherman
Recorded May 30, 2016, at Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall, London
Engineered by Mike Hatch
Mixed by John Kilgore at John Kilgore Sound & Recording, New York, NY
Co-commissioned by Southbank Centre, Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, Cité de la musique, and KölnMusik - Kölner Philharmonie.
World Premiere: October 12, 2014, by the Colin Currie Group, at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London.

Album Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME

Cover photograph: Bay/Sky, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1984 by Joel Meyerowitz
©Joel Meyerowitz
Design by Ben Tousley

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

565676

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Steve Reich
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Pulse
Performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble
Josh Modney, Gabby Diaz, Michi Wiancko, Pauline Kim, violin
Kyle Armbrust, Wendy Richman, viola
Claire Chase, Alice Teyssier, flute
Joshua Rubin, Campbell MacDonald, clarinet
Jacob Greenberg, piano
Greg Chudzik, bass

Quartet
Performed by Colin Currie Group
Colin Currie, Sam Walton, vibraphone
Philip Moore, Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP+MP3
UPC
075597932331
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597932300
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597932355
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
14.00
UPC
075597932386
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597932409
  • 565676

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • It was thirty-five years ago today that Kronos Quartet gave the world premiere performance of Steve Reich’s Different Trains at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. To mark the occasion, Reich’s publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, has published a new video, in which he discusses the process behind composing this piece for string quartet and tape. Reich used carefully chosen speech recordings to shape the musical material for the score, evoking his American childhood during World War II while also addressing the Holocaust. The 1989 first recording of Different Trains, performed by Kronos, won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition.

  • Composer Steve Reich talks about creating his iconic 1965 tape piece It's Gonna Rain in a new video from his publisher Boosey & Hawkes. That year, Reich recorded Pentecostal preacher Brother Walter preaching on Noah and the Flood in San Francisco, then aligned two Wollensak tape recorders that gradually fell out of sync, eventually creating contrapuntal lines from the recording. Reich's first major phasing work, it would become a landmark piece.

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch releases Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet on February 2, 2018; the album is also available on vinyl LP on March 30. Pulse (2015) is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble—an artist collective committed to transforming the way music is created and experienced—and Quartet (2013) is played by the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble led by percussionist Colin Currie that specializes in the music of Steve Reich; these are also the ensembles that gave the world premiere performances of the respective works.

    Reich says, "Pulse, for winds, strings, piano and electric bass, was completed in 2015 and was, in part, a reaction to Quartet, in which I changed keys more frequently than in any previous work. In Pulse I felt the need to stay put harmonically and spin out smoother wind and string melodic lines in canon over a constant pulse in the electric bass and or piano. From time to time this constant pulse is accented differently through changing hand alternation patterns on the piano. All in all, a calmer more contemplative piece."

    He continues, "Quartet, when mentioned in the context of concert music, is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In my case, the quartet that has played a central role in many of my pieces (besides the string quartet) is that of two pianos and two percussion. It appears like that or in expanded form with more pianos or more percussion in The Desert Music; Sextet; Three Movements; The Four Sections; The Cave; Dance Patterns; Three Tales; You Are (Variations); Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings; Daniel Variations; Double Sextet; and Radio Rewrite. In Quartet, there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.

    "The piece is one of the more complex I have composed. It frequently changes key and often breaks off continuity to pause or take up new material. Though the parts are not unduly difficult, it calls for a high level of ensemble virtuosity. The form is one familiar throughout history: fast, slow, fast, played without pause. The slow movement introduces harmonies not usually found in my music."

    Steve Reich has been called "our greatest living composer" (New York Times) and "the most original musical thinker of our time" (New Yorker). His path has embraced not only Western Classical music, but the structures, harmonies, and rhythms of non-Western and American vernacular music, particularly jazz. "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. In April 2009 Steve Reich was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Double Sextet. Nonesuch has released twenty-three Steve Reich albums, beginning in 1985 with The Desert Music and including two box sets; his most recent album was Radio Rewrite (2014).

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Pulse
    Performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble
    Josh Modney, Gabby Diaz, Michi Wiancko, Pauline Kim, violin
    Kyle Armbrust, Wendy Richman, viola
    Claire Chase, Alice Teyssier, flute
    Joshua Rubin, Campbell MacDonald, clarinet
    Jacob Greenberg, piano
    Greg Chudzik, bass

    Quartet
    Performed by Colin Currie Group
    Colin Currie, Sam Walton, vibraphone
    Philip Moore, Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Pulse
    Produced by Judith Sherman
    Recorded May 28, 2017, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY
    Engineered by John Kilgore
    Production Assistant: Jeanne Velonis
    Commissioned by Carnegie Hall; the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director; the Barbican, London; KölnMusik - Kölner Philharmonie; and Philharmonie de Paris.
    World Premiere: November 1, 2016, by International Contemporary Ensemble, conducted by David Robertson at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY.

    Quartet
    Produced by Judith Sherman
    Recorded May 30, 2016, at Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall, London
    Engineered by Mike Hatch
    Mixed by John Kilgore at John Kilgore Sound & Recording, New York, NY
    Co-commissioned by Southbank Centre, Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, Cité de la musique, and KölnMusik - Kölner Philharmonie.
    World Premiere: October 12, 2014, by the Colin Currie Group, at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London.

    Album Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME

    Cover photograph: Bay/Sky, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1984 by Joel Meyerowitz
    ©Joel Meyerowitz
    Design by Ben Tousley

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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