At the beginning of February, the Hallé presents a three-day celebration of the music of Steve Reich, a living legend from the world of contemporary classical music.
Three separate concerts, forming part of the Hallé’s new ‘The Hallé Presents …’ series, will be performed at both The Bridgewater Hall and Hallé St Peter’s. These collaborative events will see the Hallé joined by world-class artists Colin Currie, ‘the world’s finest and most daring percussionist’ (The Spectator), and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, as well as young musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music.
Raised in New York and California, Steve Reich’s compositions have often focused on the variety of different sound worlds that the percussion section offers. His influence over younger generations of composers, musicians and artists all over the world continues to this day.
The concerts feature over ten major works, including some of Reich’s larger scale masterpieces such as The Desert Music, and Four Sections. Iconic smaller works include Music for Pieces of Wood and Mallet Quartet, written for percussionist Colin Currie who performed it at two consecutive sold out concerts in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Tens of thousands of people heard Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood perform Electric Counterpoint at Glastonbury Festival, which will be reprised in The Bridgewater Hall alongside Reich’s 2019 multimedia work Reich/Richter, composed for a film by visual artist Gerhard Richter and film maker Corinna Belz, has been presented in over 100 live performances to great acclaim.
Steve Reich said of the festival: “From orchestra, chorus, ensemble, chamber and film down to two pair of bare hands, this festival is certainly comprehensive. Given the participation of musicians like Colin Currie and Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead guitarist) as well as the work of visual artist Gerhard Richter, this promises to be a magnetically attractive event.”
Colin Currie commented: “The connection of Steve’s music to the vibrancy and diversity of the Manchester cultural scene is particularly obvious and striking, and the presentation of this music in the optimum surroundings of The Bridgewater Hall and Hallé St Peter’s is most compelling. The Hallé’s depth of sound and flexibility will be ideal for this music and a unique set of concerts awaits”.
