Colin Currie Group celebrates Reich’s 90th year with rhythmic late works
The Colin Currie Group marked Steve Reich’s 90th year with a London concert focused mainly on music he wrote after turning 71. The programme showed how Reich’s rhythmic inventiveness remains compelling, culminating in the premiere of a new work that the reviewer found especially dazzling.
After an uneven opening, the ensemble performed four works in succession: *Radio Rewrite*, *Double Sextet*, *Quartet* and *In All Your Ways*, alongside the earlier *Clapping Music*. The Pulitzer Prize-winning *Double Sextet* featured intricate patterns between two ensembles, while *Quartet* paired vibraphones in a spare, graceful performance. Written for 16 instruments, *In All Your Ways* draws a rhythmic pattern from Proverbs 3:5–6; the Barbican’s Reich at 90 celebrations continue until May.
In short
- Colin Currie Group celebrated Reich’s 90th year with a programme of later works.
- The new *In All Your Ways* was the concert’s high point.
- Reich’s music still displayed rhythmic energy and invention.
Explained simply
Steve Reich is an American composer associated with minimalism, a style that often builds music from repeated patterns and gradual changes. His work has had a major influence on contemporary classical music, and rhythm is central to much of it.
The Colin Currie Group is a percussion ensemble led by British percussionist Colin Currie. Reich has written for a range of instruments and ensembles, including percussion, keyboards and strings, and his later works continue to explore how patterns shift and interact.
Reich’s 90th year has prompted concerts and events marking his long career. The Barbican is presenting a series of performances, giving audiences a chance to hear works from different periods and consider how his approach to rhythm has developed.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Colin Currie Group review – Steve Reich’s music is still bedazzling”.