Nonesuch Records' 1989 recording of Steve Reich's Different Trains, the Grammy Award winner for Best Contemporary Composition, and Electric Counterpoint has returned on vinyl. The album features the first recordings of the two pieces, performed by Kronos Quartet and Pat Metheny, respectively. The vinyl edition is out today, the 30th anniversary of Kronos Quartet's world premiere performance of Different Trains at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Pitchfork recently called Different Trains a "late-career masterpiece," including the album among the 200 Best Albums of the 1980s. Watch a new mini-documentary about it here.

Pitchfork has published its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s," which it hopes "represents the best of what this innovative decade has to offer." Among the "icons who defined a decade" are Steve Reich for Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint, featuring Kronos Quartet and Pat Metheny, Brian Eno and David Byrne for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and Laurie Anderson for Big Science.

Nonesuch Records' 1998 Grammy-winning recording of Steve Reich's landmark piece Music for 18 Musicians, performed by Steve Reich and Musicians, is back on vinyl. First released on vinyl in a limited run for Record Store Day 2015, the album, mastered for vinyl by Robert C. Ludwig, is now available at a new, low price, pressed on two 140-gram vinyl LPs at Pallas Manufacturing in Diepholz, Germany. The New York Times says: "It would be hard to think of any American music more important than this."

The latest issue of BBC Music Magazine is out now, including reviews of three new Nonesuch releases: Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet ("poignant, intoxicating"), John Adams's Violin Concerto ("expansively beautiful, dazzling"), and Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! ("the art of the trio"). 

Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet, released on CD and digitally in February, is now available on vinyl as well. Pulse is performed by International Contemporary Ensemble, and Quartet by Colin Currie Group. The Los Angeles Times notes the "lyricism, gorgeous instrumental textures and affecting harmonies" of Pulse, and the New York Times says: "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."

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced its 2018–19 concert season—its centennial season—and among the artists joining the orchestra to perform this season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are John Adams and Audra McDonald. The LA Phil will also give the world premiere of new works by Adams, Steve Reich, and Louis Andriessen.

Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet is now available on CD and digitally, with the vinyl to come on March 30. Pulse is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Quartet is 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."

Nonesuch releases Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet February 2, with vinyl due March 30. The album 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." Pre-order to download the third movement of Quartet now.

Steve Reich spoke with WNYC's New Sounds and shared music from his season-long Carnegie Hall residency, which resumes with a performance of his Tehillim tonight and the upcoming Three Generations, a four-concert, Reich-curated exploration of the changing direction of concert music from the mid-20th century to the present. You can hear the episode and get concert details here.

In the 2016–17 season, the Barbican celebrates milestone birthdays of composers Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and John Adams. The series, Reich, Glass, Adams: the Sounds That Changed America, begins with two days celebrating Reich, who recently turned 80, and his music this weekend, featuring Barbican Associate Ensemble Britten Sinfonia and the London Symphony Orchestra. Among the pieces performed over several programs this weekend are Three Tales, Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint, City Life, Drumming, New York Counterpoint, You Are (Variations), Daniel Variations, The Desert Music, the European premiere of Pulse.

Steve Reich turned 80 years old last week, an occasion that is being celebrated in concerts across the globe. NPR marked the milestone with a feature on Weekend Edition Sunday yesterday, in which Anastasia Tsioulcas spoke with the composer and examines works that span his career. "When he began, Reich was an outsider," Tsioulcas concludes. "Now his work is embraced by temples of high culture around the world." You can hear the piece here.

Among the 80th birthday celebrations for Steve Reich will be a week of concerts by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) highlighting the composer's works at Davies Symphony Hall, September 7–11, 2016, starting with the Orchestra's Opening Night Gala and culminating in an all-Reich concert featuring Kronos Quartet. The pieces to be performed during the week are Three Movements, Double Sextet, Six Marimbas, Electric Counterpoint, and WTC 9/11.