The musical influence of Steve Reich and his compositions are the focus of a marathon weekend at the Barbican in London on May 7 and 8, 2011. Following the previous announcement of the Reverberations weekend, further details of the program have now been confirmed. The program is listed below.

The weekend celebrates Reich as a special guest in honor of his 75th birthday year during a packed weekend that explores his influence on generations of musicians, as well as his own work. Steve Reich is joined by artists like Kronos Quartet; Bryce Dessner (the guitarist of The National and a performer, with Bang on a Can, on the Nonesuch recording of Reich's 2x5) and his band Clogs; former Battles member Tyondai Braxton; eighth blackbird, who perform on the Nonesuch recording of Reich's Double Sextet and make their London debut; Brooklyn-based percussion quartet So Percussion; Bang on a Can; post-minimalist pianist Max Richter; Hungarian percussion group Amadinda Quartet; conductor André de Ridder; Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo; electronica maverick Dan Deacon; Canadian artist Owen Pallett; and Icelandic musician, composer, and producer Jóhann Jóhannsson. 

In the lead up to the weekend Steve Reich gives a talk at Barbican Art Gallery on May 5 as part of its current exhibition Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown, Gordon Matta-Clark: Pioneers of the Downtown Scene, New York 1970s. The event also includes a performance from So Percussion.

To coincide with both the exhibition at Barbican Art Gallery and the Reverberations weekend, composer and indie pop artist Micachu has created new music in response to and inspired by a personal journey taken by foot around the Barbican Centre and the local area. This Sonic Journey, conceived and produced by sounduk, is a collection of aural landscapes that connect the creator, listener, and music with the larger world.

During the weekend, the Barbican/Guildhall School Creative Learning Division presents a number of events for students and young people centred around Reverberations. Bang on a Can, So Percussion, and Kronos Quartet will lead rehearsals and master classes with Guildhall School musicians, and Steve Reich will attend rehearsals for a new piece created by young people from Junior Guildhall, Creative Learning ensembles, and Centre for Young Musicians. Performances take place on the Barbican FreeStage during both afternoons, leading up to the Barbican Hall sessions.

Below is the complete program of the Reverberations weekend, divided into six sessions at the Barbican and LSO St Luke’s. For further details and tickets, visit barbican.org.uk/reverberations.

Saturday, May 7

First session, LSO St Luke’s: the session celebrates Steve Reich’s transatlantic influence. Bang on a Can performs Louis Andriessen’s Life and works by Lukas Ligeti and Steve Martland. These works are combined with Reich’s classics Music for Pieces of Wood (performed by So Percussion) and his Sextet for four percussionists, who play marimbas, vibraphones, bass drums, crotales, sticks, and tam-tam, and two keyboardists (performed by Amadinda Quartet and So Percussion). So Percussion also perform extracts from their Imaginary City, a sonic meditation on urban soundscapes.

Second session, LSO St Luke’s: Kronos Quartet gives the world premiere of Bryce Dessner’s string quartet Tenebre, the UK premiere of Clouded Yellow by Michael Gordon, and also a performance of Scott Johnson’s "It Raged" from How it happens, based on the sampled voice of American journalist I.F. Stone. So Percussion performs David Lang’s The So-Called Laws of Nature. The session ends with an instrumental performance by Dessner’s band Clogs, known for their compositions and improvisations that use sounds and textures from all across the musical spectrum.

Third session, Barbican Hall: Kronos Quartet gives the European premiere of Steve Reich’s most recent composition, WTC 9/11, the UK premieres of Bryce Dessner’s Aheym and of Ov Horachamim (traditional, arranged by Judith Berkson and Jacob Garchik) and a performance of Viderunt Omnes by Perotin, arranged by Kronos Quartet. The concert also includes the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by André de Ridder performing Steve Reich’s first orchestral work, Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards, plus works by Anna Clyne, Michael Gordon, and Tyondai Braxton. Electronic musician Dan Deacon and So Percussion perform their collaborative work Ghostbuster Cook: The Origin of the Riddler for percussion instruments and electronics, and Bang on a Can and Lee Ranaldo present their live collaboration How Deep Are Rivers. Members of Bang on a Can also perform Reich’s 2x5.

Sunday, May 8

Fourth session, LSO St Luke’s: Paul Hillier’s vocal group Theatre of Voices performs the London premiere of David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Little Match Girl Passion (together with the Amadinda Quartet), Steve Reich’s Proverb, and Roger Marsh's Not a Soul but Ourselves. The session closes with Jóhann Jóhannsson performing new work with his own ensemble.

Fifth session, LSO St Luke’s: the theme of the session is Percussion. It includes the UK premiere of Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet, written for the Amadinda Quartet, and his Music for Pieces of Wood Variations, played by David Cossin and Ian Ding. Hauschka performs new work with his trio, and eighth blackbird performs works by Missy Mazzoli, Thomas Adès, Philippe Hurel, and David Lang.

Sixth session, Barbican Hall: The session opens with Clapping Music, performed by Steve Reich and So Percussion. Canadian artist Owen Pallett performs orchestral arrangements of his album Heartland in its entirety for the first time, along with Britten Sinfonia, who also play Julia Wolfe’s Cruel Sister (conducted by André de Ridder) and Reich’s You Are Variations (together with Synergy Vocals, conducted by Clark Rundell). The final session also includes a set from Max Richter and his ensemble and a set by Clogs before closing with Reich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet (performed by eighth blackbird and Bang on a Can).

The weekend before Reverberations gets under way, on April 30, Carnegie Hall celebrates Reich's 75th birthday year with its own all-Reich concert, Music of Steve Reich, featuring performances by Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can with Glenn Kotche, eighth blackbird, and So Percussion in the New York premieres of Mallet Quartet, WTC 9/11, and 2x5, as well as a performance of Double Sextet. For information and tickets, visit carnegiehall.org.