Steve Reich & the Colin Currie Group, Queen Elizabeth Hall

This autumn, the South Bank Centre will be alive with the sounds of drums, marimbas, vibraphones and the human body. Metal, Wood, Skin is the complex’s first festival of percussion. At the heart of the season is a concert of four works by Steve Reich and the Colin Currie Group.

The night opens with the classic Clapping Music (1972), a piece formed entirely of handclaps. The composer himself will join Currie for the performance. The other works – Sextet for percussion & keyboards, Mallet Quartet and the world premiere of Quartet for 2 vibraphones and 2 pianos – have been chosen to highlight Reich’s long-standing engagement with tuned percussion instruments. This will be a fun, polychrome riot of a concert.

Colin Currie is, according to Steve Reich, “one of the greatest musicians working in the world today.” Currie is renowned for his physicality, musicality and precision, deploying everything from bird-whistles and bull-roarers to Burmese gongs with grace and flair. An advocate for new music and a tireless promoter of musical education, he has become the percussionist of choice for numerous composers. His performance of Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians was a highlight of last year’s Rest is Noise Season at the South Bank. This year’s concert looks to be no different.

What	Steve Reich & the Colin Currie Group, Queen Elizabeth Hall
Where	Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX \| MAP
Nearest tube	Waterloo (underground)
When	On 12 Oct 14, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Price	£10 - 35
Website	Click here to book via the Southbank Centre

Practical

BEFORE THE EVENT

At 6.15pm, the Southbank's head of classical music Gillian Moore sit in conversation with the great composer himself. Attendance is free. For those who cannot make the evening concert, Reich and Currie will also be performing a matinee between 3pm and 5pm.

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

On Tuesday 11th November, the Clore Ballroom in the Royal Festival Hall will play host to free concert from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Directed by Currie, the cream of their young musicians will perform the joyous Music for a Large Ensemble (1978). The music begins at 6.15pm and lasts quarter of an hour.

Did you know...?

REICH & MINIMALISM

Minimal music grew out of the 1960s New York avant-garde to become one of the predominant movements in American classical music. While the dazzlingly complex music of European composers dealt with the aftermath of WW2, Americans had never had it so good. In a land of fast food, faster cars and rock n roll, serialism just didn’t seem to fit. Composers such as La Monte Young and Terry Riley began to create music that was superficiality simple, based on repetition of small phrases, a continuous pulse and very gradual development. In the hands of a master composer, it can be mesmerizing. Steve Reich soon became one of the genre’s leading lights, with seminal pieces including Drumming (1971), Music for 18 Musicians (1974) and Different Trains (1988). His music has a particular focus on percussion, and is strongly influenced by Javanese music and gamelan. As well as other composers, many rock and electronic musicians have cited Reich as a key influence on their work.

Steve Reich & the Colin Currie Group, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Minimalist icon Steve Reich joins the Colin Currie Group to perform four of his works, including a world premiere