Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Composer: Steve Reich (Artist), Performer: Steve Reich Ensemble (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2000)
• SPARS Code: AAD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Ecm Records
• ASIN: B000026258
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,706 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This has to be Steve Reich's most difficult work to perform; but he's done it. Several times. Music for 18 Musicians is for violin, cello, two clarinets doubling bass clarinet, four women's voices, four pianos, three marimbas, two xylophones, and a metallophone (vibraphone with no motor). It's a 1974 composition that focuses entirely on the rich staccato that gives minimalism its unique sound. However, Reich turns all of this into actual music by adding the richness of the metallophone and the women's voices. Whatever else people may have said about minimalism, pro or con, a work such as Music for 18 Musicians demonstrates its legitimacy. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most "Live" Of The Three Recordings Of 18, December 11, 2001

By A Customer

I own all three recordings of Music For 18 Musicians; I suggest that for anyone who is truly interested in the work, owning all three is a must.

In order of preference for me, the recordings go ECM, RCA, and Nonesuch.

No recording of 18 quite captures the piece as it sounds live. (I've had the luck to see it twice with Steve Reich & Musicians at the San Francisco Symphony.) However, the ECM version comes close to duplicating the timbre of the real thing. To my ears, it sounds the most "live".

The RCA/Ensemble Modern recording is perhaps the best performed. Ensemble Modern emphasizes Reich's earlier philosophies about music as a process; they clearly delineate the various instruments and lines in the recording, and they properly accentuate the lead mallet lines. (I say "proper" because that's what it sounded like when I saw 18 performed live.) What this recording lacks in lush beauty, it gains in near-academic perfection.

The new Nonesuch recording was designed from the ground up to be a recording, not a live performance. Most instruments are close-mic'd, which gives the odd feeling of standing next to all of the instruments at the same time. I love it for its open spaces, surprising tempo, and stunning imaging of the mallet instruments. It is as lush and beautiful as the ECM recording, but I prefer the subtleties and pacing of the ECM more.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Minimalist Milestone, June 13, 2002

By	Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This CD can either send you into a deep trance or a screaming fit, depending on your tolerance for repetative minimalist music. Music for 18 Musicians is Reich's great transition work from the small ensemble pieces of the 70's to his large scale work of the 80's and 90's. It's densely layered repeating patterns gradually shift in and out of phase with each other, creating a kalideoscope of timbres, and endlessly varied crossrhythms. To listen to this piece with an open mind is to enter an entrancing world of color light and imagination. Reich proves why he is the most imitated and inimitable of all of the minimalists.

The performance is definitive. These musicians were all members of Reich's performing groups of the 70's. And ECM engineers have a genius for atmospheric sound that is perfect for this music. This is a delightful CD.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing breakthrough cornerstone piece, excellent recording, March 12, 2003

By	I X Key "burningfield" (tomorrow) - See all my reviews

This recording of Reich's most canonical piece is perfect. & the music is absolutely brilliant. It has everything Reich did with compositional structure to that point; rests are gradually replaced with notes over a thick, juicy fabric of repetition. The musicians phase. There's also a new idea for him in this piece: music determined by the length of human breath, as the woodwinds periodically pulse a note, & each player pulses it just until s/he runs out of breathn. The music also is incredibly beautiful, in a way exceptionally modern & also eternally emotional. Get this cd. It's an absolute must for any Reich or minimalist collection.