Steve Reich 1965-1995 (10 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Steve Reich
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 10 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Nonesuch
Size: 2.71 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Come Out, for tape
Composed by Steve Reich
with Double Edge

# Piano Phase, for 2 pianos (or 2 marimbas)
Composed by Steve Reich
with Double Edge

# It’s Gonna Rain, for tape
Composed by Steve Reich
with Bang On A Can

# Four Organs, for 4 electric organs & maracas
Composed by Steve Reich
with Bang On A Can

# Drumming, for 2 female voices, piccolo, 4 pairs of bongos, 3 marimbas & 3 glockenspiels
Composed by Steve Reich
with Thad Wheeler, Gary Schall, Jay Clayton, Steve Reich, Bob Becker, Pamela Wood Ambush, Glen Velez, Ben Harris, Garry Kvistad, Russ Hartenberger, James Preiss, Mort Silver

# Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ, for 3 female voices, 3 marimbas, 3 glockenspiels, vibes & organ
Composed by Steve Reich
with Thad Wheeler, Timothy Ferchen, Nurit Tilles, Rebecca Armstrong, Jay Clayton, Steve Reich, Bob Becker, Pamela Wood Ambush, Garry Kvistad, James Preiss, Russ Hartenberger

# Clapping Music, for 2 performers
Composed by Steve Reich
with Steve Reich, Russ Hartenberger

# Six Marimbas (rearranged version of “Six Pianos”)
Composed by Steve Reich
with Bob Becker, Manhattan Marimba Quartet, Russ Hartenberger

# Music for 18 Musicians, for 4 female voices & 16 instruments
Composed by Steve Reich
with Thad Wheeler, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, Nurit Tilles, Marion Beckenstein, Jeanne LeBlanc, Evan Ziporyn, Jay Clayton, Steve Reich, Leslie Scott, Bob Becker, Phillip Bush, James Preiss, Russ Hartenberger, Timothy Ferchen, Rebecca Armstrong, Edmund Niemann, Elizabeth Lim, Garry Kvistad

# Eight Lines (revision of “Octet”), for chamber orchestra
Composed by Steve Reich
with Bang On A Can
Conducted by Bradley Lubman

# Tehillim, for 3 sopranos, alto, winds, strings, percussion & keyboards
Composed by Steve Reich
with Percussion Group The Hague, Schoenberg Ensemble
Conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw

# The Desert Music, for small chorus & large orchestra
Composed by Steve Reich
Performed by Brooklyn Philharmonic [members of]
with Cheryl Bensman Rowe, Donald Palma, Bob Becker, Colorado Quartet, Glen Velez, Garry Kvistad, Russ Hartenberger
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

# New York Counterpoint, for clarinet, bass clarinet & tape
Composed by Steve Reich
with Evan Ziporyn

# Sextet, for percussion, piano & synthesizers
Composed by Steve Reich
with Nurit Tilles, Bob Becker, Edmund Niemann, Glen Velez, Garry Kvistad, Russ Hartenberger

# The Four Sections, for orchestra
Composed by Steve Reich
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
with Nurit Tilles, Bob Becker, Edmund Niemann, Garry Kvistad, James Preiss, Russ Hartenberger
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

# Different Trains, for double string quartet & tape
Composed by Steve Reich

# Electric Counterpoint, for electric guitar, bass guitar & tape
Composed by Steve Reich
with Pat Metheny

# Movements (3) for orchestra
Composed by Steve Reich
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
with Ray Northcott, Clive Malabar, Frank Ricotti, Simon Carrington, Neil Percy
Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

# The Cave, multimedia theater work for piano, sampling keyboards & voice of Neville Chamberlain
Composed by Steve Reich
with Steve Reich Ensemble
Conducted by Paul Hillier

# Proverb, for 3 sopranos, 2 tenors, 2 vibes & 2 organs
Composed by Steve Reich
with Nurit Tilles, Bob Becker, Theatre of Voices, Edmund Niemann, Russ Hartenberger
Conducted by Paul Hillier

# Nagoya Marimbas, for 2 marimbas
Composed by Steve Reich
with Bob Becker, James Preiss

# City Life, for for chamber ensemble
Composed by Steve Reich
with Steve Reich Ensemble
Conducted by Bradley Lubman

Classic, but not the definitive…

While a multi CD collection spanning 30 years does sound very promsing, Nonesuch cannot offer all of the best recordings of some of Reich’s masterpieces (Music for 18 Musicians or Drumming), and some have been missed out completely (Music for a Large Ensemble), presumably because the piece was not recorded under the Nonesuch label. While the collection is formidable, a listener wanting to hear the best recordings of all the pieces might do better seeking out the older (or longer!) recordings of the pieces.