REICH: REJOICE: REPEAT
Ensemble Offspring celebrate Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a joyous retrospective celebrating the hypnotic power of Reich’s signature rhythmic groove.
DETAILS
Saturday 12 September 2pm & 7pm, The Neilson, ACO On The PierSUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 6PM, THE STREET, CANBERRA
PROGRAM
STEVE REICH Come Out for tape (1966)
STEVE REICH Quartet for two vibraphones and two pianos (2013)
STEVE REICH Piano Counterpoint for piano and tape (1973/2011)
STEVE REICH Radio Rewrite for large ensemble (2012)
Concert Duration: 70 minutes
PERFORMERS
Sam Weller (conductor)
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion)
Niki Johnson (percussion)
Gabi Sultana and Ronan Apcar (pianos)
Lamorna Nightingale (flute)
Jason Noble (clarinets)
Véronique Serret (violin)
Alexandra Osborne (violin)
Henry Justo (viola)
Rowena Macneish (cello)
Jacques Emery (electric bass)
DESCRIPTION
In 2026 we’re celebrating Steve Reich’s 90th birthday. But who needs a birthday as an excuse? Steve Reich’s music is our guilty pleasure – we love listening to it and we absolutely adore playing it.
In this program, we’re presenting three of our Reich favourites and special guest Gabi Sultana joins us all the way from Malta. Gabi is the soloist in Piano Counterpoint – a scintillating tour de force. Who needs six pianists when you have one astonishing virtuoso?
Gabi is joined by Ronan Apcar, Claire Edwardes and Niki Johnson in Quartet – glittering music with hints of jazz infiltrating Reich’s trademark rhythmic complexity. And with a piano–percussion quartet to hand, it makes sense to reprise Radio Rewrite, which was such a hit in our all-Reich marathon at City Recital Hall in 2018. Inspired by a meeting with Jonny Greenwood, Reich riffs on two Radiohead songs: Everything in its Right Place and Jigsaw Falling into Place. Will you recognise the originals? ‘The truth is,’ says Reich, ‘sometimes you hear them, sometimes you don’t.’
Arrive early for a special treat: one of Reich’s iconic works for tape. Come Out loops spoken voice, distilling its inherent melody and emotional power.
“the best I ever heard the piece played. Really, I’m serious. It really is. It absolutely is.”
“Sydney’s own Ensemble Offspring hit the auditorium for a hypnotic all-Reich set – Radio Rewrite and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet bookended a glimmering solo performance by Claire Edwardes of Vermont Counterpoint on vibraphone and xylophone.”
“There’s just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them.”
“The most original musical thinker of our time”
“Steve Reich’s music always, and often spectacularly so, knows where it’s going. …If you can’t feel the pulse, see a doctor.”
“Earlier in the day Ensemble Offspring celebrated the music of Steve Reich. The players’ tight-knit performances of Radio Rewrite and Double Sextet captured their propulsive energy.”“Percussionist Claire Edwardes’s scintillating account of Vermont Counterpoint illuminated its contrapuntal intricacies”
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM
Accessibility Information
If you have accessibility requirements, please reach out to the friendly Ensemble Offspring team by emailing admin@ensembleoffspring.com.
SUPPORTED BY
Ensemble Offspring is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Photo: Gabi Sultana by Benn Deceuninck
