In Person JEFFREY HERMAN JEFFREY

IN THE LOOP By Olivia Giovetti Steve Reich’s history with the Philharmonic comes full circle.

teve Reich needs to get his act to- Reich started out as a drummer inter- gether. At least, that’s what he says ested in . As a teenager, he had a (with a laugh) as he discusses his Damascus Road moment hearing Stra- Supcoming performances by the New York vinsky’s The Rite of Spring and the music Philharmonic. Not only will Music for of Bach. Shortly after his introduction to Ensemble and Orchestra be receiving its Rite, Reich heard Stravinsky conduct his New York Premiere, it’s also the first work own works with the Philharmonic, in- he’s written for orchestra in over 30 years. cluding selections from The Firebird Oh, and it’s being bookended by two and The Fairy’s Kiss. works by an obscure German composer — Less than two decades later, in Octo- by the name of Beethoven. ber 1971, Reich would make his debut Still, Reich has a home-court advan- with the Orchestra, in the dual role of tage as a native New Yorker whose latest composer and performer. Presented on work was co-commissioned by his the Orchestra’s Prospective Encounters se- hometown orchestra. His professional ries, Reich’s performances were part of history with the Orchestra spans almost the commitment to living works by living five decades; his personal history goes composers that typified ’s even deeper. tenure as Music Director. His Phase

12 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC In Person Continued from page 12 RICHARD LANDRY RICHARD

Steve Reich (center) performing in 1970; the piece appeared along with Phase Patterns on the Philharmonic’s Prospective Encounters in 1971

Patterns, performed that evening, is composer. Even a work like Music for En- built around repeated loops of the same semble and Orchestra comes from a phrase played on four identical organs. similar process that drove early works The first two performers begin in unison, like Phase Patterns, pairing and pitting with one beginning to move slightly like against like to create an intricate ahead of and out of phase with the sec- web of sound. ond. The other two performers mirror Reich’s early love for Bach comes this asynchronous synchrony. through in his new piece as well, which “That was not your typical program blends an homage to the Brandenburg down there,” Reich recalls. “But I was Concertos with the pulsating of pleased that Boulez did what he did, and Bollywood scores (an influence that that he opened another venue and wel- formed the basis of an earlier Reich work, comed music which was certainly not Runner, which can be seen as a prequel to the work he would have been writing.” Music for Ensemble and Orchestra). A Reich was heard again under the ba- three-decade hiatus from writing for or- ton of then Music Director Zubin Mehta, chestra has given Reich a fresh set of eyes who conducted in 1982 and in his approach to this work, treating the Reich’s last orchestral work, The Four Sec- orchestra like an ensemble and bringing tions, in 1988. Other works, like Desert out the conversational aspects of the Music, have also been performed by other horseshoe shape it forms onstage. orchestras (including one 2016 pairing “That basically was a way of having with The Rite of Spring). But Reich has your cake and eating it,” he says. “I can chiefly considered himself an ensemble still continue to write the kind of music

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14 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC In Person Continued from page 14 JAY BLAKESBERG JAY that I’ve been writing for ensemble for during her tenure at the Los Angeles many years, and have the additional re- Philharmonic). “I’m so very happy to be sources enriching the sound with har- on this season, in proximity to this sort monic support.” of realignment or rethinking of how to The theme of instruments playing program an orchestra.” He notes that the against themselves will carry over into success of new works needn’t come at the Kravis Nightcap event following the expense of abandoning the core rep- December 7’s orchestral performance, ertoire. “Look,” he asks, “how can you curated by Reich. His own Vermont complain about being on a program will be heard, alongside with Beethoven?” works by younger composers like Nico He thinks about this for a moment Muhly, who have gravitated toward the and his New Yorker humor returns: “If innovation of one I can stand up to The Rite of Spring, soloist playing against their own pre- maybe I can make it through the Fourth recorded loops — a one-person contra- Concerto and the Second Symphony. puntal spree. Wish me luck.” The Philharmonic’s performances of Music for Ensemble and Orchestra mark Reich’s first time working with Music Olivia Giovetti has written for The Washington Post, Lit Hub, NPR, and VAN Magazine, as well as Time Out Director Jaap van Zweden, as well as a New York (where she was classical and opera editor). reunion with President and CEO Debo- The former host of The New Canon on Q2 Music, her writing has also been heard onstage at the Brooklyn rah Borda (who championed his works Academy of Music as part of the Next Wave Festival.

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