Reich: Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint
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STEVE REICH
Reich: Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint
Kronos Quartet / Pat Metheny
[ Nonesuch Records / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 14 September 1990
This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.
"This late-'80s work finds the minimalist composer mixing acoustic and taped material to great effect. The disc's centerpiece is "Different Trains," a work that frames Reich's impressions of his boyhood train trips between his mother in Los Angeles and his father in New York; Reich also intersperses references to the much more harrowing train rides Jews were forced to take to Nazi concentration camps. Using the fine playing of the Kronos Quartet as a base, Reich layers the work with the taped train musings of his governess, a retired Pullman porter, and various Holocaust survivors -- vintage train sounds from the '30s and '40s add to the riveting arrangement. And for some nice contrast, Reich recruits guitarist Pat Metheny to create a similarly momentous piece in "Electric Counterpoint" (Metheny plays live over a multi-tracked tape of ten guitars and two electric basses). Two fine works by Reich in his prime." (AllMusic.com)
Since its inception in 1973, the Kronos Quartet has emerged as a leading voice for new work. Combining a unique musical vision with a fearless dedication to experimentation, Kronos has assembled a body of work unparalleled in its range and scope of expression, and in the process, has captured the attention of audiences worldwide.
More than 400 works have been written or arranged for Kronos, and its extensive repertoire ranges from Shostakovich, Webern, Bartók and Ives to Astor Piazzolla, John Cage, Raymond Scott and Howlin' Wolf. In addition to working closely with modern masters such as Terry Riley and Henryk Górecki, Kronos commissions new works from today's most innovative composers from around the world, extending its reach as far as Zimbabwe, Poland, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Argentina and Azerbaijan. The Quartet is currently working with many composers, including John Adams, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Osvaldo Golijov, Ben Johnston, Steven Mackey, Akira Nishimura, Gabriela Ortiz, P. Q. Phan, Steve Reich, Somei Satoh, Peteris Vasks and Guo Wenjing.
Kronos performs annually in many cities including San Francisco and New York, and tours extensively with more than 100 concerts each year in concert halls, clubs and at jazz festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, South America, New Zealand, Russia, Hong Kong and Australia. Recent tours have included appearances at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Kennedy Center, Montreux Jazz Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Moscow's Tchaikovsky Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tanglewood, London's Royal Festival Hall, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, La Scala, Theatre de la Ville in Paris and Chicago's Orchestra Hall.
Tracks:
Different Trains
America-Before the war 8:59
Europe-During the war 7:31
After the war 10:20
Electric Counterpoint
Fast 6:51
Slow 3:21
Fast 4:29
