Reich: the desert music
"A constant flickering of attention between what words mean and what they sound like." A constant rhythmical canvas by Steve Reich.
This concert will take place: without a live audience in the hall, but with a livestream. The stream will be available here on 26 March at 8pm.
“All great music is contemporary. If it's still alive and kicking, then it's contemporary.” - Steve Reich
Steve Reich was at the origins of a new musical style in the 1960s: minimal music. Repetitive motifs, powerful rhythms, music that stood on its own – the listener having no other hold than time, space and the surroundings in which it is heard.
In 1983, Reich was ready to set aside his reservations about large formations: until that time, he thought that symphonic ensembles lacked the rhythmic versatility and precision necessary for his music. The Desert Music shows that it can, and shows us a milder Reich as he explores the new possibilities.
His ability to communicate social and philosophical questions in music also comes to the fore here: with the dark poetry of William Carlos Williams as the engine that unrolls a constant rhythmical canvas, Reich addresses the destructive whims of humanity.
Flagey, Brussels Philharmonic