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EXPLAINED: Steve reich | Vintage Vibes

How music became a 'balm' for New York in the aftermath of 9/11

The 9/11 attacks changed not only New York's skyline but the music Americans used to make sense of tragedy. From Bruce Springsteen's songs of collective grief to Jay-Z's defiance and the Beastie Boys' love letter to their city, musicians responded in very different ways – helping to shape how the…

Radio France Internationale

Richard Alston’s dance illuminated the music, let you delight in the moment – and stole my heart

The radical British choreographer, who has died aged 77, was as warm and graceful as his astonishing body of work

The Guardian - UK

The Gesualdo Six/Colin Currie Group review – surely the year’s most atmospheric Prom

The Gesualdo Six brought focus and luminous tone to a sequence of early devotional music; Reich’s Tehillim made a mesmeric and ecstatic pairing

The Guardian - UK

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Magnificent minimalism, sizzling Strauss, bracing Berlioz: Guardian critics’ top picks for Proms 2026

As details of this year’s concert series are unveiled, here are some of the most exciting lineups – from a Bach recital by Notre-Dame’s organist to Thomas Adès conducting the National Youth Orchestra in his own ballet

The Guardian - UK

Reich: The Sextets album review – Colin Currie celebrates the minimalist master’s joy of six

The fourth Reich album for Currie’s specialist ensemble celebrates the composer’s precise patterns with an enjoyably chilled feel and plenty of dynamic niceties

The Guardian - UK

Éliane Radigue, French composer and musique concrète legend, dies aged 94

The Paris-born artist reinvented the synthesizer through meditative and feedback-drenched sonic explorations

The Guardian - US

Classical Mixtape: A Live Takeover review – one queue after another mars orchestral jamboree

Six world-class orchestras in one night sounds like a surefire hit – but the programming was uninspired and there was far too much standing in line

The Guardian - UK

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"What were the skies like when you were young?": How The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds showed the world that sampling could be an art form

The story of the blissfully psychedelic bricolage that launched The Orb's career, introduced ambient house to the masses and even prompted a lawsuit from Rickie Lee Jones

MusicRadar

"I've always thought that plagiarism is creative": How The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds showed the world that sampling could be an art form

The story of the blissfully psychedelic bricolage that launched The Orb's career, introduced ambient house to the masses and even prompted a lawsuit from Rickie Lee Jones

MusicRadar

Hallé/Shields/Adams: John Adams festival review – dynamism that could generate electricity

Adams himself praised the orchestra for giving ‘one of the best performances I’ve ever heard’ of his Chamber Symphony, part of a four-concert feast of his luminous timbral combinations and expansive orchestral beauty

The Guardian - UK

Danny Boyle turns Southbank Centre into a playground for its 75th birthday

London’s cultural landmark goes full technicolour... and everyone is invited to the party

Evening Standard

“If the point of Radiohead songs isn’t to make you feel good, what is their music for?”: A music professor breaks down the theory behind Radiohead's Let Down

Hitting the charts 28 years on from its release thanks to a TikTok resurgence, this gloomy cut from OK Computer is having a moment. We put the song under the musical microscope

MusicRadar

Everything We Do Is Music by Elizabeth Alker review – how the classics shaped pop

From Stravinsky to Donna Summer, the story of connections that enriched music – in both directions

The Guardian - UK

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Hisaishi review – frothing strings and quacking brass as Studio Ghibli’s composer debuts

Switching between podium and piano, Joe Hisaishi’s suite from The Boy and the Heron sparked joy, but Reich’s demanding Desert Music was vibrant and hypnotic

The Guardian - UK

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The Guardian - UK

Steve Reich: Jacob’s Ladder; Traveler’s Prayer album review – at nearly 90, he’s as energetic as ever

The consistent harmonics of Traveler’s Prayer are an unfamiliar side to the US composer’s output while the exuberant Jacob’s Ladder brings back his familiar propulsive figures

The Guardian - UK

Steve Reich: ‘We all wish art could counter the direction of US politics. But it can’t’

Now 88, the minimalist composer has reissued his life’s work. He answers your questions about Bowie, the Grateful Dead, spirituality – and his complicated friendship with Philip Glass

The Guardian - UK

Post your questions for composer Steve Reich

As the 88-year-old master of minimalist composition releases a career-spanning 27-disc box set, he will take on your questions about his life and work

The Guardian - UK

Phil Lesh obituary

Bassist, songwriter and founding member of the Grateful Dead

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The Guardian - UK

Proms 53 and 54: BBCSO/Brabbins; Beethoven for Three

The Proms’ tribute to Andrew Davis was crowned by a joyous Steve Reich premiere, while the next day saw three outstanding musicians grapple with awkward acoustics

MusicRadar

"The main synths were the Juno, Moog Voyager and the Roland SH-5, which we used for the squelchy bottom-end. It’s like a spaceship, you know?": Mr. Scruff on Ninja Tuna

Mr. Scruff takes us back to 2008 for the making of his eclectic, gloriously silly Ninja Tune debut

MusicRadar

"The result is a track that perfectly encapsulates the 'anything goes' atmosphere of the early '90s, and makes a great Christmas record for the discerning raver": The top 10 most unlikely sample sources

Aled Jones meets rave and Macaulay Culkin goes jungle

The Guardian - UK

David Crowell: Point/Cloud review – minimalism that sparkles with joy

The New York multi-instrumentalist, who has played with Philip Glass and Steve Reich, shows great flair for making minimalism rich and harmonically complex

Guitar World

“We played a bunch of really awkward shows with both of us staring at our tuners the whole time and then we broke up for 15 years”: Math-rock pioneer Mike Kinsella on his unlikely journey to cult guitar hero status with American Football

As his latest Owen album looms, the guitarist reflects on how he discovered the tunings that made him so influential, doing it all without pedals and why he can only play Teles

The Guardian - UK

Colin Currie Group review – Turnage’s percussion sextet is varied and vivid

Alongside Mark-Anthony Turnage’s New England Études (receiving its UK premiere), works by Julia Wolfe, Steve Reich and Rolf Wallin were played with immaculate precision

The Guardian - UK

From Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire to Renegade Nell – a complete guide to this week’s entertainment

The new generation of ghoul-getters meet the New York originals, and Sally Wainwright stands and delivers with her drama about an 18th-century highwaywoman

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