Steve Reich (born 1936) is an American composer known for pioneering minimal music, characterized by repetitive patterns, phasing techniques, and gradual harmonic change. His works often explore processes of rhythmic shifting, tape loops, and speech melodies, influencing contemporary classical, electronic, and popular music. Reich's career spans from the 1960s to the present, with landmark compositions such as *Music for 18 Musicians*, *Different Trains*, and *Tehillim*.

1 Early life and education

1.1 Childhood and family background

Stephen Michael Reich was born on October 3, 1936, in New York City. His mother, June Sillman, was a lyricist and songwriter, and his father, Leonard Reich, was a lawyer. His parents divorced when he was young, and Reich spent much of his childhood shuttling between Manhattan and Los Angeles. He began studying piano at age six but showed little interest until his teenage years, when he discovered jazz and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His early exposure to the rhythms of African American jazz and the intricate counterpoint of Bach would later shape his compositional language.

1.2 Studies at Cornell University and Juilliard

Reich earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Cornell University in 1957. Though philosophy was his major, he immersed himself in music history and theory, studying scores and attending concerts. After Cornell, he studied composition at the Juilliard School in New York City from 1958 to 1961, where his teachers included William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti. At Juilliard, Reich met fellow composers Philip Glass and John Corigliano, and he became increasingly drawn to the structural possibilities of rhythm and repetition.

1.3 Early influences: John Coltrane, Stravinsky, and Balinese gamelan

Reich's early influences encompassed diverse traditions. He admired the improvisational freedom and rhythmic intensity of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, whose modal jazz provided a model for sustained harmonic frameworks. The rhythmic vitality and ostinato patterns of Igor Stravinsky's *The Rite of Spring* also left a deep impression. In 1963, Reich attended a performance of Balinese gamelan music, and the interlocking, cyclical patterns of the gamelan orchestra profoundly influenced his approach to texture and pulse. These influences converged in his early experiments with tape loops and phasing.

2 Career and musical development

2.1 Early tape works (1965–1967)

Reich's first mature compositions were created with tape recorders. He manipulated recorded sounds to produce phase shifts—two identical loops playing simultaneously, gradually moving out of sync. This technique became his signature innovation.

2.1.1 *It's Gonna Rain*

Composed in 1965, *It's Gonna Rain* is based on a recording of a street preacher in San Francisco repeatedly saying, "It's gonna rain!" Reich looped the phrase on two tape machines, allowing them to gradually drift out of phase. The result is a dense, shifting texture of speech fragments, creating unexpected rhythmic patterns and sonic textures. The work marked the birth of Reich's phasing technique.

2.1.2 *Come Out*

In 1966, Reich produced *Come Out*, using a single spoken phrase from a young African American man named Daniel Hamm, who was falsely accused of murder. The phrase "come out to show them" is repeated and phased, gradually evolving into a pulsing, percussive effect. The piece demonstrated Reich's interest in using recorded speech as musical material, a technique he would revisit decades later.

2.2 Phasing technique

Phasing occurs when two identical repeating patterns are played at slightly different tempos, causing them to slide in and out of alignment. Reich initially applied this to tape loops, then adapted it for live performers. The technique creates a sense of gradual transformation without abrupt changes.

2.2.1 *Piano Phase*

Written in 1967, *Piano Phase* is a landmark work for two pianists (or one pianist with a tape). Both players begin in unison on a short melodic figure. One maintains a steady tempo while the other accelerates slightly, causing the patterns to phase. As the cycle continues, new composite patterns emerge, demonstrating how simple processes can generate complex music.

2.2.2 *Violin Phase*

*Violin Phase* (1967) extends phasing to four violins, each playing the same rapid figuration. One violinist serves as the steady pulse while the others phase against it. The piece also introduces a "resultant pattern"—an additional melodic line that emerges from the combination of phased parts, which the performers sometimes play as a solo.

2.3 Transition to live ensembles (1970s)

In the 1970s, Reich abandoned tape phasing and focused on live instrumental music. His works became longer, denser, and more overtly rhythmic, incorporating percussion and voices.

2.3.1 *Drumming*

*Drumming* (1971) is a large-scale work in four movements, scored for small tuned drums, marimbas, glockenspiels, and a female voice. It builds on phasing principles but uses live performers to create intricate, interlocking rhythms. The piece lasts about 75 minutes and is notable for its hypnotic, trance-like quality. Reich drew inspiration from African drumming traditions and his studies in Ghana.

2.3.2 *Music for 18 Musicians*

Composed in 1976, *Music for 18 Musicians* is Reich's most celebrated work. Scored for a large ensemble of woodwinds, pianos, mallet percussion, strings, and amplified voices, it is structured around a cycle of eleven chords that underpin a series of modular sections. The piece is sparse in harmony but rich in rhythmic texture, blending pulsing patterns with sustained tones. Its dance-like energy and luminous sonorities made it a breakthrough piece, widely performed and recorded.

2.4 Integration of speech melodies and Jewish themes (1980s)

In the 1980s, Reich turned to Jewish liturgical texts and documentary speech recordings, expanding his expressive scope.

2.4.1 *Tehillim*

*Tehillim* (1981) sets Hebrew psalms for four amplified female voices and a large ensemble. Musicologists note that Reich mimics the natural rhythms and pitches of spoken Hebrew, creating a melodic style derived directly from the language's prosody. The work is Reich's first explicit engagement with his Jewish heritage and is both ecstatic and meditative.

2.4.2 *Different Trains*

*Different Trains* (1988) uses recorded speech from Holocaust survivors, a railroad conductor, and Reich's childhood governess—who was Jewish but not deported. The spoken phrases are transcribed into melodic lines for string quartet, and the recorded train sounds are incorporated as rhythmic elements. The piece juxtaposes the composer's mid-20th-century American train journeys with those of European Jews sent to concentration camps. It won a Grammy Award in 1990.

2.5 Later works (1990s–present)

Reich continued to explore documentary materials and digital media in his later career, often collaborating with video artists and authors.

2.5.1 *The Cave*

*The Cave* (1993) is a multimedia opera created with video artist Beryl Korot. It interweaves the biblical story of Abraham with interviews of contemporary Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians about the Patriarch's legacy. The work uses speech melodies and video projections, examining religious identity and historical memory.

2.5.2 *City Life*

*City Life* (1995) samples urban sounds—sirens, car horns, door slams—mixed with live ensemble. The piece captures the kinetic energy of New York City, reflecting Reich's continued fascination with everyday sounds as musical material. Its driving rhythms and layered textures make it a concert favorite.

2.5.3 *WTC 9/11*

Written in 2011, *WTC 9/11* uses recordings of emergency dispatchers, friends, and witnesses from the September 11 attacks. The piece is scored for string quartet and recorded voices, employing Reich's speech-melody technique. It is a somber homage to the victims and first responders, avoiding political commentary and focusing on personal testimony.

3 Musical style and techniques

3.1 Minimalism and process music

Reich is one of the principal figures of minimalism, a movement that emerged in the 1960s emphasizing tonality, steady pulse, and repetitive patterns. His music is often described as "process music" because the listener perceives a gradual transformation resulting from a predetermined procedure—such as phasing—rather than from melody or narrative. This approach aligns with the aesthetic of composers like La Monte Young and Terry Riley, though Reich's works are more structurally rigorous.

3.2 Phasing, rhythmic dissonance, and gradual change

Phasing is Reich's most distinctive technique. By playing two identical patterns slightly out of sync, he creates shifting rhythmic dissonances that resolve and re-form. This constant state of flux generates a hypnotic effect. In later works, Reich replaced phasing with more direct "rhythmic construction," using hocketing and interlocking patterns common in West African and Balinese music.

3.3 Use of speech and documentary recordings

From his early tape pieces to *Different Trains* and *WTC 9/11*, Reich consistently incorporated recorded speech into his compositions. He notates the pitch and rhythm of spoken phrases to be played by instruments, a technique called "speech melody." This melds the abstract forms of instrumental music with the concrete reality of human voices, often giving his works a documentary or autobiographical dimension.

3.4 Instrumentation and ensemble configurations

Reich's ensembles are built around percussion and keyboards. He favors vibraphones, marimbas, pianos, and electric organs, which produce clear, percussive attacks ideal for rhythmic patterns. String sections are used for sustained tones, and amplified voices enhance textural clarity. His typical ensemble size grew from solo performers to groups of 18 or more, but he often allows for flexible instrumentation through substitution.

4 Major works

4.1 Chamber and ensemble pieces

4.1.1 *Music for Pieces of Wood*

*Music for Pieces of Wood* (1973) is scored for five pairs of tuned claves (wooden sticks). Each performer plays a short, repeating rhythmic pattern, gradually shifting against the others. The piece evokes the pure logic of timbre and duration without melodic content.

4.1.2 *Clapping Music*

*Clapping Music* (1972) is written for two performers clapping. One performer claps a constant pattern, while the other shifts by one eighth note every eight bars. The result is a permutational structure that reduces music to its rhythmic essence. It is a popular piece for live performance and educational workshops.

4.1.3 *Sextet*

*Sextet* (1984) is scored for six percussionists playing marimbas, vibraphones, pianos, and synthesizers. It is in five movements and follows Reich's characteristic harmonic progressions, with dense, layered textures that push the boundaries of acoustic percussion.

4.2 Orchestral and larger works

4.2.1 *The Desert Music*

*The Desert Music* (1984) is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and percussion, setting the poet William Carlos Williams's *The Descent*. It uses Reich's speech-melody technique to treat words as rhythmic material. The piece moves through sections of dry, angular orchestration to lush, flowing harmony, culminating in a choral climax.

4.2.2 *Three Tales*

*Three Tales* (2002) is a digital video opera collaboration with Beryl Korot, examining three 20th-century technologies: the Hindenburg disaster, nuclear weapons testing at Bikini Atoll, and cloning. The work uses archival footage, computer-generated imagery, and documentary interviews, all integrated with Reich's instrumental score.

4.2.3 *Daniel Variations*

*Daniel Variations* (2006) is a memorial for journalist Daniel Pearl, capturing Reich's engagement with American Jewish themes. It sets verses from the Book of Daniel alongside a quote from Pearl: "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." The work is elegiac yet resolute, blending biblical prophecy with modern testimony.

5 Legacy and influence

5.1 Impact on contemporary classical music

Reich's work reshaped the landscape of contemporary classical music. His fusion of rigorous process with accessible, visceral sound challenged the dominance of atonal and serial music. He inspired a generation of composers, including John Adams, Julia Wolfe, and David Lang, who extended minimalism into postminimalism. Reich's music is now standard repertory in conservatories and concert halls worldwide.

5.2 Influence on rock, electronic, and pop genres

5.2.1 Brian Eno and ambient music

Brian Eno, a pioneer of ambient music, has cited Reich's phasing techniques as a key influence. Eno's early albums, such as *Music for Airports*, employ tape loops and gradual change reminiscent of Reich's process music. The overall aesthetic of ambient and electronic minimalism owes a direct debt to Reich's innovations.

5.2.2 Radiohead and other artists

The rock band Radiohead has acknowledged Reich's rhythmic complexity, particularly on albums like *Kid A* and *Amnesiac*. The pulsing, layered textures of pieces like "Idioteque" (which samples a Reich-like rhythm) reveal his imprint. Additionally, artists such as David Bowie, Sonic Youth, and Sufjan Stevens have referenced Reich's influence, and his music has been sampled by electronic producers and DJs.

5.3 Awards and honors

5.3.1 Pulitzer Prize for Music (2009)

In 2009, Reich received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for *Double Sextet*, a piece for two identical sextets that can be performed live with a pre-recorded track. The Pulitzer recognized his sustained contribution to American music and the vitality of his recent work.

5.3.2 Grammy Awards and other distinctions

Reich has won three Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary Classical Composition for *Different Trains* (1990), and Best Classical Contemporary Composition for *WTC 9/11* (2014) and for *Double Sextet* (2010). He has also been awarded the Polar Music Prize (2007), the Praemium Imperiale (2018), and dozens of honorary doctorates. In 2013, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

6 Discography

6.1 Studio albums and major recordings

Reich's discography includes landmark releases on the ECM, Nonesuch, and Deutsche Grammophon labels. *Music for 18 Musicians* (1978, ECM) is considered a definitive recording. Other essential albums: *Drumming* (1974), *Tehillim / The Desert Music* (1984), *Different Trains* (1989), *The Cave* (1995), *Three Tales* (2003), and *Double Sextet* (2009). Many performances are also available through the composer's own ensemble, Steve Reich and Musicians.

6.2 Notable collaborations and performances

Reich has collaborated with numerous ensembles and soloists, including the Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can, the London Sinfonietta, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also worked with choreographers such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and dancers of the Béjart Ballet. His music is regularly performed at major festivals like the BBC Proms and the Salzburg Festival.

7 Selected bibliography and further reading

  • Reich, Steve. *Writings on Music, 1965–2000*. Ed. Paul Hillier. Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Potter, Keith. *Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass*. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Schwarz, K. Robert. *Minimalists*. Phaidon, 1996.
  • Strickland, Edward. *Minimalism: Origins*. Indiana University Press, 1993.
  • *Steve Reich: A Bio-Bibliography*. Ed. D. J. Hoek. Greenwood Press, 2002.
  • Official website: stevereich.com
  • Steve Reich at Nonesuch Records
  • Steve Reich at ECM Records
  • Interview with Steve Reich, 2002, *The Guardian*
  • "Steve Reich" in *Grove Music Online* (by Richard Toop)