Steve Reich: Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite

The 80th anniversary of minimalist pioneer 's birth in 2016 has resulted in strong recordings of his music. This one by New York-based , which already had a successful recording of the classic under its belt, is especially nice. Here the group takes up little-known and more recent works and makes a very strong case for them. The of 2007 was composed for a single sextet of strings, winds, and vibraphone performing with a tape of itself (as in ), but here it is convincingly realized by 12 live musicians. The work is not more colored by jazz than other music by , but from the sheer rhythmic energy with which the carries this off, it almost seems like a jazz work. (2013), one of the composer's newest pieces as of its recording here, is a bit off the beaten track. The work is for 11 instruments, close to the ensemble heard in the . It resulted from the composer's friendship with the members of the alternative rock band , and despite the minimal Fast-Slow-Fast-Slow-Fast titles of its five movements, each one is suggested by a song. The actual level of content, however, is very low; in most of the movements it will take an obsessive fan indeed to spot the original. Nevertheless, the overlap of that group with lovers may be fairly large; 's interest in the band began when he heard one of its members performing his own . Recommended for both and fans. ~ James Manheim