Reich: The Desert Music

With The Desert Music, minimalism pioneer Steve Reich wrote one of his most ambitious works. It forms an intense double bill with Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto, performed by the legendary percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

In the 1960s, Steve Reich revolutionized music with minimalism: repetitive motifs and driving rhythms that left listeners with no anchors other than time and space. By 1983, casting aside his doubts about large ensembles, he composed The Desert Music. This masterpiece triumphantly proved that a symphony orchestra could master his trademark rhythmic precision. Fueled by the dark poetry of William Carlos Williams, Reich unfolds a continuous sonic canvas to confront the destructive impulses of humanity.

Similarly, virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie has inspired the world with her boundless energy. Profoundly deaf since childhood, she "hears" music through the vibrations in her body. This extraordinary tactile approach infuses raw dynamism into Higdon’s concerto. In this Grammy-winning masterpiece, the soloist commands a massive battery of instruments in a spectacular physical choreography. It is a monumental work, preserved by the US Library of Congress for its priceless aesthetic value.