LPR Live, a new podcast from WQXR's Q2 Music showcasing music recorded live at Greenwich Village's Le Poisson Rouge, launches with a throwback to Steve Reich's seminal 1988 Different Trains for string quartet and tape, performed by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME).
Steve Reich undoubtedly stands as one of America’s most influential composers. He also admits to being one of the most influenced musicians of his generation, combining the disparate sounds of jazz, African drumming, American experimentalism, and more. In Different Trains, written in 1988 and scored for string quartet and pre-recorded tape, Reich adds a deeply personal narrative to this melange of musical influence and creates one of his most affecting musical statements.
This episode features performances by Caroline Shaw and Ben Russell, violinists; Nadia Sirota, violist; and Clarice Jensen, cellist, and interviews with Jensen, Shaw and Reich himself. The music was recorded on September 11, 2012; hear the complete show at www.q2music.org.
Steve Reich’s Different Trains was featured on LPR Live by permission from Boosey & Hawkes. Visit Boosey on the web at www.boosey.com.