Stephen Michael Reich

American composer, one of the main representatives of minimalism in music was born in 1936 in New York. He studied at Cornell University, Julliard School and Mills College. Many of his early works like 'It's gonna rain' or 'Come out' were composed to be recorded on a tape recorder. They contain short spoken fragments that repeat, combine and intertwine, making rhythm the most characteristic part of these compositions. Counterpoint also relies on rhythmic values. This type of music is called minimalism and developed in the 1960s in New York, mainly thanks to Terry Riley, whose work significantly influenced Reich.
At the end of the 1960s, the artist was very interested in percussion instruments and with the help of the International Education Institute, he was able to travel to Africa, where he continued his studies at the University in Ghana. It was then that the composer developed a technique called 'phased technique', in which two or more instruments were to perform identical phrases at different tempos. This method can be heard in 'Piano phrase' and especially in 'Drumming' on bongos, marimba, and celesta. In the 1970s, the composer modified this technique, using phrases at the same tempo, but in the form of a canon, to create a complex piece from simple material. These means were used in 'Music for 18 Musicians', 'Vermount Counterpoint' and 'The Desert Music'. On the other hand, 'Tehellim', a collection of psalms in Hebrew, juxtaposes rhythm, extended chords, and a melody inspired by Jewish folklore.
In his recent works, Reich returns to voices from a tape recorder, but now their melody, which extends and rhythm are used as a motif by accompanying instruments. This technique was used in 'Different trains' and 'The Cave', a multimedia work he created in collaboration with his wife Beryl Corot, a specialist in video creation.
Steve Reich is a respected artist, he has been called 'our greatest living composer' (The New York Times), 'America's greatest living composer' (The Village VOICE), 'the most original musical thinker of our time' (The New Yorker). The Guardian stated that 'there are only a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history, and Steve Reich is one of them'.
In 2006, when the artist celebrated his 70th birthday, it was celebrated in many places on Earth with festivals and concerts. In the same year, Reich received the Praemium Imperiale award, an important international award that covers fields not awarded the Nobel Prize. He is also a recipient of the Polar Music Prize, a member of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In 2009, he received the Pulitzer Prize for the composition 'Double Sextet'.
Steve Reich has dealt not only with aspects of Western classical music, but also with the structure, harmony, and rhythm of non-Western and his native music, especially jazz.