Steve Reich's latest album, which pairs eighth blackbird's performance of the composer's Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Double Sextet with Bang on a Can's performance of 2x5, has now been named among the Top 10 Classical Albums of 2010 by NPR. "Steve Reich may be labeled a 'minimalist' composer," says NPR, "but the works on this recording are far more 'maximal' than simple repeating chords and mutating melodies."
Steve Reich's latest album, released on Nonesuch in September, pairs eighth blackbird's performance of the composer's Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Double Sextet, which the BBC says is "arguably one of Reich's finest works," with Bang on a Can's performance of 2x5, which Gramophone has called his "smartest, most sonically nourishing recording for years." The album has now been named among the Top 10 Classical Albums of 2010 by NPR.
"Steve Reich may be labeled a 'minimalist' composer, but the works on this recording are far more 'maximal' than simple repeating chords and mutating melodies," says producer Tom Huizenga, host of NPR's classical music blog Deceptive Cadence. "In the more recent work, 2x5, Reich said he wanted to write for rock instruments (electric bass, piano, drums, guitar), and was especially keen on interlocking the electric bass parts. The sparkling result is something like a cross between a 1970s prog-rock band (King Crimson, for example) and Reich's own brand of minimalism."
Read more and see the complete list of the Best Classical Music of 2010 at npr.org.
To pick up a copy of Double Sextet / 2x5 or any of the albums in Steve Reich's Nonesuch catalog, head to the Nonesuch Store, where all CDs, LPs, and DVDs are now 33% off the suggested retail price.
You can hear a variety of takes on the third movement of 2x5 in the remixes submitted as part of a contest at indabamusic.com. Check back with the Nonesuch Journal next week for Reich's selections of the winning remixes.
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