Composer Steve Reich is the guest on the latest episode of the Song Exploder podcast hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway. He talks about the first movement of his groundbreaking 1988 piece Different Trains, “America—Before the War,” and his childhood experiences during World War II that inspired it. The New York Times declared the piece, which Nonesuch label mates Kronos Quartet performed on the Grammy Award–winning first recording, “a work of such originality that ‘breakthrough’ seems the only possible description.” You can hear what he had to say in the episode here:

You can pick up a copy of Different Trains and hear it here.

Steve Reich’s new book, Conversations, was published on HarperCollins' Hanover Square Press earlier this month. In the book, the composer speaks with collaborators, fellow composers, musicians, and visual artists influenced by his work—including Nonesuch Records Chairman Emeritus Robert Hurwitz, Jonny Greenwood, Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, Stephen Sondheim, Nico Muhly, Brian Eno, Michael Gordon, and others—to reflect on his prolific career as a composer as well as the music that inspired him and that has been inspired by him. You can get it here.