New York Celebrates Steve Reich@70

Composer's Birthday Is Marked by a Unique Collaboration Among Brooklyn
Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center

Fall 2006 Celebration Includes Two U.S. Premieres and One NY Premiere


NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/18/06 -- "There's just a handful
of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the
direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them." -- The
Guardian [U.K.]


Steve Reich, who recently was called "America's greatest living
composer" by The Village Voice, was born in 1936 in New York City,
where he still lives today. Fittingly, his 70th birthday will be
celebrated by three of his hometown's leading performing arts
organizations: the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Carnegie Hall, and
Lincoln Center, in a celebration entitled Steve Reich@70. For the
first time, these three institutions have joined forces to pay tribute
to a living composer, presenting complementary programs of his work.
Each organization will host a premiere of a new Reich work, along with
a wide variety of earlier pieces, including collaborations with
creators in other mediums. The month-long celebration begins on the
composer's actual 70th birthday -- October 3, 2006 -- and continues
through November 4.


"I never thought I'd look forward to turning 70," said Steve Reich.
"To say I'm honored is definitely an understatement."


BAM opens Steve Reich@70 with a dance program on Tuesday, October 3,
in recognition of Reich's status as one of today's most choreographed
composers. The Akram Khan Company, accompanied by the London
Sinfonietta led by Alan Pierson, gives the U.S. premiere of a new
dance by British choreographer Khan, titled "Variations for Vibes,
Pianos, and Strings" after Reich's newly commissioned score. Anne
Teresa De Keersmaeker, a choreographer long associated with the
composer's music, performs two classic works, one solo and the other
with a member of her Rosas dance company, Michèle Anne Demey, October
3 and 5-7.


This is followed at Carnegie Hall with a focus on Reich's instrumental
music. A six-day Professional Training Workshop, led by the composer,
begins October 13 and culminates in a concert by the participants on
Wednesday, October 18 in Zankel Hall, with "City Life" and other
works. On Saturday, October 21 in Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
presents a program of Reich's masterworks performed by the artists for
whom they were written: "Electric Counterpoint," played by guitarist
Pat Metheny; "Different Trains," with the Kronos Quartet; and "Music
for 18 Musicians," performed by Steve Reich and Musicians. Carnegie
Hall's festivities conclude with "Making Music: Steve Reich" in Zankel
Hall on Sunday, October 22. The all-Reich program begins with a
conversation between the composer and Carnegie Hall's Artistic
Advisor, Ara Guzelimian, and includes the U.S. premiere of "Daniel
Variations," a tribute to the murdered Wall Street Journal reporter
Daniel Pearl.


Lincoln Center concludes the month of music with an emphasis on
Reich's vocal and dramatic works. On Saturday, October 28 at Alice
Tully Hall, Grant Gershon conducts the Los Angeles Master Chorale in
the New York premiere of "You Are (Variations)" for voices and chamber
ensemble, paired with Reich's timeless "Tehillim." And from November
2-4 (Thursday through Saturday), Brad Lubman leads the Steve Reich
Ensemble in "The Cave," Reich's ground-breaking video opera
collaboration with video artist Beryl Korot. This evening-length work
was last seen at the Lincoln Center Festival in 1999.