SoXXI _ Tribute to S. Reich _ Percussion

SoXXI pays tribute to Steve Reich on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

The celebration of Steve Reich’s 90th birthday offers an exceptional opportunity to discover one of the key figures in contemporary music and understand the profound influence his work has had on the evolution of music throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. SoXXI presents a journey through different stages of his career, united by the central role of percussion, repetition, pulse and the gradual transformation of musical material.

The concert opens with ** Music for Pieces of Wood (1973), an emblematic work of minimalism in which Reich demonstrates how extremely simple sonic material can generate extraordinary rhythmic and timbral richness. This is followed by ** Nagoya Marimbas (1994), which reveals the evolution of his musical language towards a more developed and sophisticated approach to writing for pitched percussion instruments, while retaining the principles of precision, repetition and rhythmic displacement that characterise the composer’s work.

With ** Mallet Quartet (2009), the programme explores a later period in Reich’s output, showcasing the continued relevance and evolution of his compositional techniques through music of great complexity and energy. ** Vibraphone Phase (1967), one of his earliest process-based works, reveals the origins of ideas that would shape his later musical language, particularly the technique of phase shifting.

Finally, ** Drumming Part I (1970–71)** represents a landmark in Reich’s output and in the development of musical minimalism. The work brings together many of the elements featured in the programme: repetitive patterns, gradual changes, a steady pulse and a conception of time shaped by perception.

Taken as a whole, this programme not only celebrates Steve Reich’s 90th birthday, but also invites audiences to explore more than four decades of musical creation and discover how an apparently simple language can become a sonic experience of remarkable depth, precision and vitality.