Steve Reich: Phase to Face

A student of Darius Milhaud and Luciano Berio musician Steve Reich (born in 1936) quickly developed a style of his own inspired by Baroque music Bartók Webern and Stravinsky as well as jazz traditional music (especially African) and Hebrew cantillation. As a trailblazing exponent of minimalist music Reich rejected the characteristic complexity of mid-20th-century classical harmony and tonality in order to make large-scale works from minimal materials a single chord a brief musical motif a spoken exclamation – thereby reconciling sacred and popular music. In this profile he looks back on the key stages of his 40-years lasting career from the formation of his own group Steve Reich and Musicians to the American avant-garde he helped to create from new video performances to his quasi-religious music. Despite his success and wide recognition Steve Reich has never renounced his independent spirit.