New Sounds

#4716, Steve Reich Introduces Mivos Quartet Recordings

Episode Summary

Pulitzer Prize-winning American minimalist and living legend, Steve Reich, is both an influential composer and a fast-talking New Yorker. For this New Sounds, he presents the Mivos Quartet’s recording of his complete works for string quartet (Triple Quartet, Different Trains and WTC 9/11.) Reich first began to layer multiples of instruments in works like New York Counterpoint and Electric Counterpoint, before considering the string quartet as single composite instrument, and those multiples of the violins, viola, and cello. Hear the purity of the multiple quartet idea in his Triple Quartet, as played by Mivos Quartet, who are violinists Olivia De Prato and Maya Bennardo, violist Victor Lowrie Tafoya, and cellist Tyler J. Borden. All three works were originally written for Kronos Quartet, and many quartets who perform and record these works, usually play to the Kronos pre-recordings. However Mivos Quartet re-recorded ALL of the pre-recorded parts. Reich describes how Mivos leans forward into the beat, which gives the feeling of pushing the speed and contributes more energy to the performance, even though the tempo is played as marked. The new versions - and how Mivos hears them and the feel of them, are "a welcome surprise", according to Steve Reich.  Plus, hear the guitarists of Dither Quartet along with Mark Stewart and many more guitarists playing Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, from a New Sounds Live concert at Brookfield Place, in 2015. And more.  - Caryn Havlik Program #4716, Steve Reich introduces Mivos Quartet recordings  (First aired 2/15/23) ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Steve Reich: Triple Quartet [1:21]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Richard StoltzmanWORK: Reich: New York Counterpoint [6:23]RECORDING: New York CounterpointSOURCE: RCA Red SealINFO: Available at Amazon.com, Youtube, Spotify ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Different Trains I. America - Before the War [6:21]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Different Trains III. After the War [10:28]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: WTC 9/11: II. 2010 [5:17]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: WTC 9/11: III. WTC [4:38]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Dither Quartet, Mark Stewart, et al.WORK: Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint [1:09]RECORDING: New Sounds Live, Brookfield Place, 2015SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.INFO: http://ditherquartet.com ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Steve Reich: Triple Quartet: III [3:24]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com ARTIST: Jennifer GrimWORK: Julia Wolfe: Oxygen [10:35]RECORDING: Through Broken TimeSOURCE: New Focus RecordingsINFO: newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com

Episode Notes

Pulitzer Prize-winning American minimalist and living legend, Steve Reich, is both an influential composer and a fast-talking New Yorker. For this New Sounds, he presents the Mivos Quartet’s recording of his complete works for string quartet (Triple Quartet, Different Trains and WTC 9/11.)

Reich first began to layer multiples of instruments in works like New York Counterpoint and Electric Counterpoint, before considering the string quartet as single composite instrument, and those multiples of the violins, viola, and cello. Hear the purity of the multiple quartet idea in his Triple Quartet, as played by Mivos Quartet, who are violinists Olivia De Prato and Maya Bennardo, violist Victor Lowrie Tafoya, and cellist Tyler J. Borden.

All three works were originally written for Kronos Quartet, and many quartets who perform and record these works, usually play to the Kronos pre-recordings. However Mivos Quartet re-recorded ALL of the pre-recorded parts. Reich describes how Mivos leans forward into the beat, which gives the feeling of pushing the speed and contributes more energy to the performance, even though the tempo is played as marked. The new versions - and how Mivos hears them and the feel of them, are "a welcome surprise", according to Steve Reich. 

Plus, hear the guitarists of Dither Quartet along with Mark Stewart and many more guitarists playing Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, from a New Sounds Live concert at Brookfield Place, in 2015. And more.  - Caryn Havlik

Program #4716, Steve Reich introduces Mivos Quartet recordings  (First aired 2/15/23)

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Steve Reich: Triple Quartet [1:21]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Richard StoltzmanWORK: Reich: New York Counterpoint [6:23]RECORDING: New York CounterpointSOURCE: RCA Red SealINFO: Available at Amazon.com, Youtube, Spotify

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Different Trains I. America - Before the War [6:21]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Different Trains III. After the War [10:28]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: WTC 9/11: II. 2010 [5:17]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: WTC 9/11: III. WTC [4:38]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Dither Quartet, Mark Stewart, et al.WORK: Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint [1:09]RECORDING: New Sounds Live, Brookfield Place, 2015SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.INFO: http://ditherquartet.com

ARTIST: Mivos QuartetWORK: Steve Reich: Triple Quartet: III [3:24]RECORDING: Steve Reich The String QuartetsSOURCE: Deutche GrammophonINFO: store.deutschegrammophon.com

ARTIST: Jennifer GrimWORK: Julia Wolfe: Oxygen [10:35]RECORDING: Through Broken TimeSOURCE: New Focus RecordingsINFO: newfocusrecordings.bandcamp.com