MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

Inspired by the sounds and harmonies of the city:

New York Counterpoint (1985), performed on 11 clarinets, directed by Anthony McGill Cello Counterpoint (2003), performed on 8 cellos, directed by Lester St. Louis

Electric Counterpoint (1987), performed on 13 electric guitars, directed by Dither

STEVE REICH, COMPOSER

Steve Reich is a New York City-born composer who became an important figure in the development of minimalism. He is best known for incorporating and manipulating taped sound recordings in his pieces, and for his use of slow harmonic rhythm, phase shifting, and repetition. Reich has been called “the most original musical thinker of our time” by The New Yorker and “among the great composers of the century” by The New York Times. The Guardian writes that Reich is one of "a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history.”

THE PROGRAM

Steve Reich wrote these three Counterpoint pieces for one live performer to play against up to a dozen recordings of the same instrument. At this show, they are performed fully live, by groups of 11 clarinets, 8 cellos, and 13 electric guitars. These rhythmically intricate pieces sound simple, and use enormous amounts of repetition to turn multiple layers of sound into a wonderful hypnosis. They are notable for the way they imitate electronic sounds through acoustic instrumentation.

New York Counterpoint intends to capture the pulsing vibrancy of New York City. It was originally written in 1985 for clarinetist Richard Stolzman. Here it is led by Anthony McGill, the principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the first African-American principal player in the Philharmonic’s history. McGill is the recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize and has partnered with Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative in examining how America’s history of racial inequality impacts the arts.

Performed By:

• Anthony McGill, director

• Adrian Sandi

• Alec Manasse

• Alexander Fiterstein

• Anton Rist

• Juan Esteban Martinez

• JuHyun Lee

• Kristina Teuschler

• Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson

• Victor Goines

Cello Counterpoint was jointly commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and Leiden University for the cellist Maya Beiser. It was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Here it is led by Lester St. Louis, a Queens-born cellist, composer and curator, who has become a cornerstone of the city’s underground new music and improvised music scenes. St. Louis is a former artist-in-residence at Roulette Intermedium and Pioneer Works and the recipient of the Jerome Fund for New Music award. He has performed with jaimie branch Fly or Die, TAK Ensemble and numerous other groups.

Performed By:

• Lester St. Louis, director

• Clérida Eltimé

• Dara Blumenthal Bloom

• Dara Hankins

• Helen Newby

• Mariel Roberts

• Melody Giron

• Rubin Kodheli

Electric Counterpoint was originally commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for its Next Wave Festival in 1987 for guitarist Pat Metheny. Here is it is led by the New York-based electric guitar quartet Dither, which consists of Taylor Levine, Joshua Lopes, James Moore and Brendon Randall-Myers. Formed in 2007, the group has collaborated with many artists in rock, jazz, electronic, noise and new music communities, and have become famed for their performance of this Reich piece, which they’ve played at Lincoln Center and at London’s The Barbican.

Performed By:

• Dither, director

• Brandon Ross

• Brett Parnell

• Eleonore Oppenheim

• Francisco del Pino

• Geremy Schulick

• James Moore

• Josh Henderson

• Josh Lopes

• Kenji Shinagawa

• Mark Stewart

• Stephen Griesgraber

• Taylor Levine

• Wendy Eisenberg

Producer: Adam Shore

Production Manager: Richie Clarke

Sound: Garth MacAleavey

Stage Manager: Jay Eigenmann

Technical Production: Satish Singh for All Access Event Services

Press Release: Piotr Orlov