Celebrations of Steve Reich's 75th year in 2011 continue to mount, with Sweden's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra kicking things off in January with Tonsättarfestivalen: Steve Reich, a five-day festival of Reich's music in Stockholm, and the Sónar festival's just-announced all-Reich Opening Night concert in Barcelona in June. Already on tap are musical celebrations at Carnegie Hall, the Barbican, the Sacrum Profanum festival in Kraków, Cité de la Musique, and more.
Celebrations of Steve Reich's 75th year in 2011 continue to mount, with two more European musical gatherings on board with events dedicated to the composer's music. In addition to the previously announced events of the Barbican's Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich in London in May and the Sacrum Profanum festival in Kraków starting September 11, and birthday-month concerts at Cité de la Musique in Paris and the London Symphony Orchestra in October, not to mention Carnegie Hall's Music of Steve Reich this April, Reich will also be front and center in a five-day Reich festival at the Stockholm Concert Hall in January and at the Sónar festival in Barcelona in June.
Sweden's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra launches Tonsättarfestivalen: Steve Reich in the Stockholm Concert Hall's Great Hall on Wednesday, January 26. The composer himself opens the proceedings with a performance of his Clapping Music. Also on the Opening Night program are You Are (Variations) and Tehillim, with the British vocal group Synergy Vocals performing as well.
The next night, Thursday, January 27, will be dedicated entirely to Reich's classic 1971 piece Drumming, featuring the Kroumata percussion ensemble and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's own percussion group.
The weekend begins when members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are joined again by Kroumata and Synergy Vocals, as well as the Dahlkvist Quartet, for another all-Reich program Friday night, with three works from the 1990s: Triple Quartet (1998), Proverb (1995), and City Life (1995).
On Saturday, the Amadinda percussion ensemble performs Mallet Quartet, which the group premiered a year ago in Budapest, on a program that also features the two pieces on Reich's latest Nonesuch release, Double Sextet and 2x5, as well as Electric Counterpoint.
Closing out the festival on Sunday, Amadinda, members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Synergy Vocals perform two of Reich's most well-known works: Sextet and Music for 18 Musicians.
For tickets and information, visit konserthuset.se.
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Synergy will return to perform that last program at the 2011 Sónar festival in Barcelona. The vocal ensemble will join the instrumental group bcn216 and the composer himself at L’Auditori on Thursday, June 16, for the festival's Opening Night concert. For more information, visit 2011.sonar.es.
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To pick up a copy of any of the CDs in the Steve Reich Nonesuch catalog, all of which are now 33% off as part of the Nonesuch Store's third anniversary sale, click here.
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