Reich: Different Trains

“the shrill, astringent tone of the violins...works to their advantage in realising George Crumb's "Black Angels for Electric Quartet", a dramatic, sometimes antagonistically cacophonous assemblage of 13 brief "images from the dark land", in places seemingly influenced by Bernard Herrmann's piercing score for Psycho.” The Independent, 4th November 2011 **

“Eloquent and tonal, it exudes a suavely Gallic influence. The Quatuor Diotima avoid supersweet sentimentalism and concentrate instead on clarity.” Sunday Times, 13th November 2011

“This is an eccentric collection of strange bedfellows...the Diotima's performance is a strong one.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“the conjunction of these three contrasting string pieces written across the 20th century proves useful, and stimulates thought. Furthermore, Hughes Deschaux's recording is terrific. It's vivid and warm with a generous sense of space...and you can't fault Pierre Morlet's cello, always singing and sorrowful.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 ****

“Deeply peculiar in a highly satisfying way, this music provokes shocks and giggles in equal measure.” The Arts Desk, 10th March 2012

“the London Steve Reich Ensemble deliver crack, rhythmically idiomatic, Steve-endorsed performances of music that requires greater insider knowledge of Reich's methods, and the sounds he expects, than his notation can convey; having absorbed the lessons, the ensemble are Reich's representatives this side of the Atlantic” Gramophone Magazine, November 2011

“Triple Quartet opens with the Bernard Herrmann's urgent Psycho soundtrack, the sawing strings overlapping nervously, before growing more bewildered and distracted in the melancholy second movement. It's a fine companion to Different Trains, with the same sense of fraught journeys and uncertain destinations, but the frantic detail of Piano Counterpoint impresses most” The Independent, 2nd September 2011 ****

"This is an excellent recording and I highly recommend it" BBC Music Magazine (Benchmark recording of Piano Phase)

“Every hip British string quartet seemingly gravitates towards Steve Reich's Different Trains as a means to keep them on track. It’s a powerful work with a simple message - as Reich was travelling between his divorced parents in 1940s America his fellow Jews in central Europe were making train journeys altogether more sinister. The Duke Quartet, much to their credit, have remade the three pre-recorded string quartet tracks and their version is full-bodied and faithful to Reich's intentions.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2006

"The Smith Quartet, which excels in this repertoire, gives a committed and outstanding performance throughout." The Gramophone

“…Different Trains… is beautifully clear, and played with a rather touching delicacy which brings out the subtle poetry of the ending (Reich isn't often credited with a power to move, but he certainly shows it here).” BBC Music Magazine, September 2005 ****

“This version of Different Trains, a reworking of the original string quartet version, impresses immediately by the richness of its vastly expanded sound palette. It reveals that inside that frenetic chamber work was a much larger piece trying to get out, and here it is, fully realised, as it were, in glorious technicolor. Some of the writing has an almost Beethovenian quality. It's a hugely impressive performance of a work that has, quite literally, grown in stature. And, of course, if you're going to record Reich with 48 strings, you may as well include the largest version of TripleQuartet from 1999, scored for 36 of them.
If in going back to The Four Sections for orchestra from 1986 one has the feeling that much is inchoate, it's also true that all the elemental power of the more recent works is there, too, and the Lyon musicians react to it with fantastic energy and precision. A major addition to the Reich discography.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“I never thought I’d look forward to turning 70,” says Steve Reich. “To say I’m honoured is definitely an understatement.”

“…Phases is now the best option for anyone looking to acquire an instant Steve Reich back catalogue collection. …covering all the significant areas of Reich's career in a well-proportioned, musically intelligent way.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2006 ****