Conductor and master percussionist Colin Currie spearheads a dazzling homage to Steve Reich, legend of American music and champion of minimalism, at Paris's Fondation Louis Vuitton! Throughout this proudly modern program, which blends lightness of touch with metronomic precision, the artists of the Colin Currie Group—specialists in Reich's repertoire—demonstrate their dizzying virtuosity and meticulous attention to detail, essential qualities to bring to the work of the New York-born genius.
The ensemble accentuates Reich's fearless explorations of sonic textures and colors in a riveting selection of his works, beginning with Pulse, composed for two violins, violas, cellos, flutes, and clarinets, along with piano and electric bass. Next comes Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ, a quintessential work of phase music, a technique popularized by Reich in which several nearly identical melodic or percussive lines come almost imperceptibly in and out of rhythm with each other. The evening is punctuated by an interview with the composer, offering us bits of wisdom and a glimpse of his rich artistic vision.
