Steve Reich

The Profile

Steve Reich (born 1936) is an American composer and pioneering figure of minimalism known for phasing, pulse-driven structures and the use of tape and speech fragments. His catalogue includes Music for 18 Musicians, Drumming, Different Trains and Electric Counterpoint; he received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009 for Double Sextet.

Pioneer of minimal music with phasing techniques; American composer born in 1936; associated with Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Philip Glass; Pulitzer Prize for Music (2009, Double Sextet).

Six reviews chart Reich’s minimalist arc: the trance-percussive Drumming, the landmark Music for 18 Musicians, the choral-orchestral The Desert Music, the tape-and-strings mosaic Different Trains and the guitar-layered Electric Counterpoint. Phasing, pulse and incremental change dominate, with tape speech, choirs and intricate ensembles. Writers praise the intensity, architecture and influence on later electronic music. One dissenting voice calls the big box ‘too repetitive,’ underscoring how Reich can split audiences.