Steve Reich’s Double Sextet Wins Pulitzer
Steve Reich, the New York-based composer, has finally won the Pulitzer Prize for music with his piece Double Sextet. Nominated 3 separate times in the last decade, the panel of judges finally awarded the richly percussive piece that was entered on his behalf for pieces composed in 2008.
Double Sextet was composed for two identical sets of instruments: piano, vibraphone, clarinet, flute, cello and violin.
According to Reich, “The piece can be played in two ways [...] either with twelve musicians or with six playing against a recording of themselves.” The version that I heard last night was from the premiere performance, played by the sextet ensemble eighth blackbird in May of 2008. The quality of the recorded version is heightened by the fact that the ensemble plays against a taped version of themselves – so as initially conceptualized by Reich, the exact tonal quality of each instrument is replicated and “twinned” over itself, producing an intricately woven and quite magical sound that is dense in timbre, especially in terms of the contrapuntal elements exhibited in both the piano and vibraphone.
Eighth Blackbird Recording Video of Double Sextet by Steve Reich
First Rehearsal of Double Sextet by Steve Reich Featuring Eighth Blackbird Video
More Material on Steve Reich’s Double Sextet
Hear an excerpt (7:19 minutes) here, at NPR’s website, in the article: Steve Reich Wins Music Pulitzer by Tom Huizenga. Performers: Eighth Blackbird. (The performance you can hear on this page was recorded Nov. 11 in Oberlin, Ohio. Performers: eighth blackbird, with students at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music: Leah Asher, violin; Eleanor Bors, cello; Esther Fredrickson, flute; Mark Cramer, clarinet; Thomas Fosnocht, piano; Jennifer Torrence, percussion.)
Visit the Official Steve Reich Website.
View composer Steve Reich’s notes on the composition Double Sextet here.
Get info on the Steve Reich Double Sextet Premier and US Tour.
Hear the full recording of Steve Reich @ 70 on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer.
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Post Copyright 2009 Matty Byloos
Photo Credit/Copyright: Matthew Austin from MA / Arts and Culture Blog
