WQXR’s “Q2” Web Stream Presents “Maximum Reich: A Celebration of Steve Reich” from Thursday, December 10 to Wednesday, December 16

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Steamed at www.Q2live.org

Q2, WQXR’s vibrant new 24/7 music stream dedicated to contemporary classical music, kicks off its first full festival, MAXIMUM REICH: A Celebration of Steve Reich, from December 10 - 16. This weeklong immersion into the work of one of the most landscape-changing composers of the last 50 years will include a comprehensive presentation of his recorded works; explorations of the influences both on and of Reich, including tributes from musicians and composers he has inspired, such as Nico Muhly, Sonic Youth, and David Lang; recent videos and exclusive downloads; and interviews and music recordings from the venerable archives of WNYC, the new owner of WQXR.

MAXIMUM REICH: A Celebration of Steve Reich will stream on Q2 from Thursday, December 10 to Wednesday, December 16. Q2 is available at www.Q2live.org, and can also be accessed through WQXR’s web site, www.wqxr.org. In addition, NPR Music will run the full stream and it will feature highlights from the festival, including select recordings of live performances and Steve Reich in his own words. NPR’s stream will be available at www.npr.org/music.

“Steve Reich embodies all that is Q2, which is why he was the obvious choice for our first deep dive into the life and work of a living composer. He’s unquestionably of New York, yet globally relevant; embracing of diverse genres but stylistically coherent; innovative but within a continuum of centuries of musical breakthroughs; embraced by both downtown and uptown, in clubs and concert halls; and through the strength and immediacy of his individual voice, has re-charted the course of contemporary classical music.” - Limor Tomer, WNYC’s Executive Producer for Music

MAXIMUM REICH will showcase Steve Reich's illustrious history with WNYC, dating back nearly 30 years. In 1981, Tim Page first interviewed Reich as part of the “New, Old and Unexpected” series. Since then, Reich has made many memories with WNYC through show appearances, interviews and live performances, including:

  • "Meet the Composer" with Tim Page, 1985
  • American Music Festival: New Sounds Portraits with John Schaefer, 1986
  • Live performances as part of New Sounds Live, Steve Reich at 70, and a Composers’ Showcase at the Whitney
  • Interviews on Soundcheck, New Sounds, New York & Company, and The Leonard Lopate Show

Festival schedule:
10pm nightly: Different versions of the iconic Reich composition, Music for 18 Musicians
Noon & 8pm daily: Interviews with Reich from WNYC archives

Daily focus:
    Thursday: The Birth of a Style: Influences and Teachers
    Friday: Counterpoint: From Vermont to Cello
    Saturday: Reich in Full Voice: Vocal, Choral and Tape
    Sunday: The Cave (Reich’s only opera)
    Monday: Live Concerts from the WNYC Archives
    Tuesday: Music for Percussion
    Wednesday: Reich Remixed: The Next Generation

Steve Reich is known for his innovative style and use of phase technique, human speech as melodic and harmonic source material, and his radical use of instruments and voices in combination with themselves and others. With a career spanning 50 years, Reich has influenced artists ranging from David Bowie to Akram Khan, from Radiohead and Sufjan Stevens to DJ Spooky. Reich recently won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Double Sextet, and he has been hailed by critic Kyle Gann as “America's greatest living composer.”

Comments

Anonymous said…
This notice about Steve Reich would have done well to have a "Share" application including Facebook.

I did it by just using the URL, but not everyone is on to that work-around.
December 5, 2009 at 11:31 AM
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