Optimum News 12 Newsday.com MSG Varsity Explore LI AM New York Optimum Autos Optimum Homes

Steve Reich

Around the web

More from around the web »

About Steve Reich

Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer who pioneered the style of minimalist music. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns (examples are his early compositions, It's Gonna Rain and Come Out), and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts (for instance, Pendulum Music and Four Organs). These compositions, marked by their use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm and canons, have significantly influenced contemporary music, especially in the US. Reich's work took on a darker character in the 1980s with the introduction of historical themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage. Different Trains (1988) has been called "the only adequate musical response—one of the few adequate artistic responses in any medium—to the Holocaust", and was credited with earning Reich a place among the great composers of the 20th century.

from Wikipedia