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Steve Reich at 90 - The Four Sections

Live from The Glasshouse, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra celebrates the music of Steve Reich with four landmark works, conducted by Colin Currie with guitarist Bryce Dessner.

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra presents an all-Steve Reich programme celebrating one of the most influential composers of the past century. Conducted by Colin Currie, a long-time collaborator and advocate of Reich's music, the concert brings together four works that showcase the composer's distinctive blend of pulse, repetition and evolving musical patterns.

Bryce Dessner takes the solo role in Electric Counterpoint, a work whose interlocking lines and rhythmic energy have made it one of Reich's most widely admired compositions. The programme also includes Three Movements, Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards, and Four Sections, revealing the range and imagination of Reich's orchestral writing.

Together, these works trace the development of a musical language that transformed contemporary classical music and continues to influence composers and performers across many genres.

Presented by Tom Service and Elizabeth Alker live from The Glasshouse in Gateshead.

Steve Reich: Three Movements
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint
Steve Reich: Variations, wind, strings, keyboards
Steve Reich: The Four Sections

Bryce Dessner (guitar)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Colin Currie (conductor)

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2 hours, 29 minutes

Last on

Today 18:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Steve Reich

    Clapping Music

    Performer: Jude Carlton. Performer: Colin Currie.

  • The Orb

    Little Fluffy Clouds

  • Steve Reich

    Variations for winds, strings and keyboards

    Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Colin Currie.

  • Steve Reich

    WTC 9/11: 1st mvt (extract)

    Ensemble: Kronos Quartet.

  • Steve Reich

    Three Tales Act 3; Dolly: The Human Body Machine

    Choir: Synergy Vocals. Ensemble: The Steve Reich Ensemble. Conductor: Brad Lubman.

  • Steve Reich

    Nagoya Marimbas

    Performer: Colin Currie. Performer: Sam Walton.

  • Steve Reich

    The Four sections for orchestra

    Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Colin Currie.

  • Pérotin

    Viderunt omnes

    Conductor: David Munrow. Orchestra: Early Music Consort of London. Singer: James Bowman. Singer: Charles Brett. Singer: David James. Singer: Rogers Covey‐Crump. Singer: Paul Elliott. Singer: Martyn Hill. Singer: Leigh Nixon. Singer: John Potter. Singer: Geoffrey Shaw.
    • 111 Years Of Deutsche Grammophon The Collector's Edition Vol.2.
    • Deutshe Grammophon.
    • 2.

  • Steve Reich

    Know what is above you

    Ensemble: Ars Nova Copenhagen. Conductor: Paul Hillier.
    • First Drop.
    • Canteloupe.
    • 13.

Broadcast

  • Today 18:00
    BBC Radio 3