by Andrew Frisicano

New York-based composer Steve Reich has won the Pulitzer Prize for music with his piece Double Sextet. Reich composed the work for two identical sextets of instruments, each made up of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, vibraphone and piano.NPR]

The award-winning piece was commissioned by new-music ensemble eighth blackbird, who toured with Double Sextet as part of their The Only Moving Thing program in 2008. That show visited New York's Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, April 17th, 2008.

The second half of The Only Moving Thing was a new joint composition by Bang on a Can artistic directors David Lang, Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, called singing in the dead of night. Gordon's Trance is being performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, April 22nd.

On May 20, BAM is hosting a screening of The South Bank Show: Steve Reich. The event, which also includes a reception and a Q&A with Reich himself, is free, but "exclusively for Friends of BAM".

More info on Double Sextext, with a NYT review of its debut and videos of eighth blackbird rehearsing and recording the piece below...

Continue reading "Steve Reich wins a Pulitzer, appearing at BAM for a Q&A "

"This year's Pulitzer Prizes in honored two musical innovators who tend to reject categorization: A special citation went to singer-songwriter Dylan, and the annual music award went to composer and Los Angeles native David Lang." [Chicago Tribune]