In honour of Steve Reich’s 90th birthday today, I’m sharing a subtle homage done for his 80th. It’s a quiet miniature in my “very early morning” vein, arriving in the middle of an otherwise silent three years in the late 2010s.
23 (2016) derives from melodic patterns and sonorities in Reich’s music. The starting point for this process was measure 23 from Piano Phase (1967) and his standard key signature of two sharps (D major/B minor). Several of his works are referenced, sometimes in quick or overlapping succession and rarely overtly.
In Toronto, we’re also looking forward to hearing the North American premiere of Reich’s newest composition, In All Your Ways, to be given by Soundstreams three days from now, along with a performance of the iconic Music for 18 Musicians on its 50th anniversary.
23 composed September 2016
Recorded October 2016, unedited take on a Roland digital piano
Photo: Carolyn Cole (New York Times)
Music and composer’s notes copyright Bruce A. Russell 2026
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