Steve Reich was on WNYC's New Sounds to talk with host John Schaefer about the newly released first recording of his pieces Runner and Music for Ensemble and Orchestra, performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Susanna Mälkki, and his new piece, Traveler’s Prayer, which will be given its US premiere performance by Colin Currie Group and Synergy Vocals in an all-Reich program at Carnegie Hall tonight, paired with Tehillim and Music for 18 Musicians. You can hear the episode, which also includes Makaya McCraven's "So Ubuji," from his new album, In These Times, in a showcase of new October releases, here:

The New York Times calls Runner “a calmly luminous orchestral piece with the pulsating, propulsive rhythms that animate much of Mr. Reich’s music.” The San Francisco Chronicle says that Music for Ensemble and Orchestra “is a beautiful and dramatically charged masterpiece, but its impact goes even further than that.” You can hear them, get the album, and pre-order the vinyl, due December 2, here.