"People have been calling Steve Reich the greatest living composer for more than 25 years," says NPR's Weekend Edition host Ayesha Rascoe in her introduction to Reich's interview with NPR's Tom Huizenga on the release of the 27-disc box set Steve Reich Collected Works. About the collection, the composer says: "It makes me feel very good ... It's another way of saying the music is going to get out there. The music is going to have a life independent of me ... It's a great thing. And I'm very proud that it happened. And now I'm busily working on the next piece." You can hear them on NPR's Weekend Edition here.

The 27-disc box set Steve Reich Collected Works is out now on Nonesuch. It features music recorded during the composer's 40 years on the label—six decades of his compositions, including first recordings of his two latest works, Jacob’s Ladder and Traveler’s Prayer (both also available to stream/download today)—plus two extensive booklets with new essays by Robert Hurwitz, Michael Tilson Thomas, Russell Hartenberger, Judith Sherman, and Nico Muhly, and a comprehensive listener’s guide by Timo Andres. Nonesuch made its first record with Steve Reich in 1985; he was signed exclusively to the label that year. Collected Works includes 24 discs of Nonesuch recordings and three from other labels. You can watch an unboxing video narrated by the composer here.