Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians

Available for 28 days

As Steve Reich celebrates his 90th birthday, Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores his groundbreaking minimalist work Music for 18 Musicians. It was his first for a larger ensemble, and it embodies many of his influences at that time. There's the concept of the organum, which we'll hear in the medieval chant of Pérotin and JS Bach's famous cantata, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. Then there's the long reach of the Indonesian gamelan, with the evocative chimes of Debussy's Pagodes and Ravel's String Quartet. And Sara considers the power of repetition with Henryk Gorecki, Pauline Oliveros, and that most insistent of piano notes - Chopin's Raindrop. To listen to this programme on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map'.