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shine | Steve Reich 70th Birthday Tribute

Sunday, January 28 at 7 pm

Wild rides in the world of Reich

by Grant Gershon

When people ask me if I get nervous before a big concert, my stock reply is “Naw, not nervous — just excited.” However I will freely confess to being nearly petrified with ‘stage fright’ before an informal rehearsal in a backstage dressing room at Lincoln Center this past October. The piece in question was Clapping Music by Steve Reich, a duet for two ‘clappers,’ and I was about to have a first run-through of this iconic work with STEVE REICH himself as the ‘other’ clapper.

It didn’t help my state of agitation to know that Steve has probably performed the piece hundreds of times over the years with various members of his own ensemble, while this was my professional clapping debut, so to speak. It must also be said that although I’d had nothing but wonderfully positive experiences with Steve up until then, we conductors tend to get anxious when we have to ‘put pedal to metal’ and actually make sound instead of merely telling everyone else what to do!

Be that as it may, there I was with Steve Reich in this cramped little dressing room, my heart racing, clapping away like a maniac… when gradually the extraordinary inner strength of his music began to transform my terror into exhilaration and, as so often happens with Steve’s music, time itself seemed to fade away. The run-through ended, we were back in the dressing room, and Steve was his usual gracious self. “Maybe that was a little quick?” was his only implied suggestion (an extreme understatement, I imagine).

Calling the top of my “heroes list”

In the year 2000, shortly after I was appointed Music Director-Designate of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, I made a list of the composers I would most like to commission new works from for the Chorale. Steve Reich, a hero of mine ever since my student days, was at the very top of this list. For me, Steve has always transcended genres and stereotypes. His music is equally satisfying to study in depth or to groove to in the car driving through the desert. I’ve always been particularly taken with his vocal music, from the wordless interplay of Music for 18 Musicians to the exuberant Psalm settings of Tehillim. The only problem with the notion of engaging Steve Reich to write a piece for the Chorale was that I had never met him, and given that he had never accepted a commission from a choral organization, I had no idea if he would even respond to an unsolicited inquiry. Nevertheless, we drafted a letter to Steve expressing our interest in commissioning a piece from him for the Master Chorale.

I happened to be in Paris on November 10, 2000 (my 40th birthday) when I received this email from the Master Chorale’s Executive Director, Terry Knowles: “Grant: I just picked up the phone and there was Steve Reich! This job definitely has its moments....” That was the beginning of the amazing journey that the Chorale has taken with one of the great composers of our time.

First meeting

A month or two later I was invited to Steve’s apartment in lower Manhattan (I myself was living in upper, upper, “uppest” Manhattan) to talk about this potential project. I was extremely excited (alright, nervous) about meeting this great man whom I had heard could be rather ‘prickly.’ As it turned out he could not have been more warm and welcoming that day. He said that he remembered quite fondly a performance of The Desert Music that the Master Chorale had participated in some years back and that he was therefore eager to hear what we might have in mind. I had brought some sketches of this crazy concert hall designed by Frank Gehry which was looking like it might actually get built in L.A., and I talked about how the Chorale would love to have a new choral work that would capture some of the kinetic energy of our future home.

Steve seemed interested but cautious at that first meeting. He said he had a lot on his plate at the moment (he was in the midst of composing a full evening’s work entitled 3 Tales at that time), but that he was intrigued by the idea of writing ‘pure music’ again (as he put it) after working with spoken word and video on several large recent projects. I left feeling cautiously optimistic about the prospects for this potential new work.

(l-r) Steve Reich, Chorale Executive Director Terry Knowles, Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz and Grant Gershon

Premiering a masterpiece

Well, as they say, ‘the rest is history.’ The piece that developed from that meeting was You Are (Variations), which has been hailed as a masterpiece all over the world. The premiere in October 2004 was one of the highlights of my artistic life, and I know that all of the singers and players that were involved in that first performance felt that something very special had happened. There was a giddy energy at the post-performance party. In fact, at that party two momentous events occurred almost in passing. The first was that Steve quietly stated to me that he would like to have the Master Chorale record You Are (Variations) in Los Angeles for Nonesuch Records. The second was that Steve was introduced to Ruth and Judea Pearl, the parents of slain journalist Daniel Pearl. Although no one could have known it at the time, that meeting laid the groundwork for Daniel Variations, the work which will receive its West Coast premiere this evening.

In March of 2005 the Chorale recorded You Are (Variations) in the legendary Studio ‘A’ at Capitol Records in Hollywood (pictures of Ray Charles, John Coltrane and Frank Sinatra adorning the walls). The sessions were a dream. Everybody involved was ‘in the zone’ from beginning to end and we are all extremely proud of the results. It was at Musso and Frank’s Grill after the final recording session that Steve suggested that ‘the whole gang’ should come to New York to premiere the piece in 2006 during the festivities surrounding Steve’s 70th birthday. Although we certainly didn’t exactly need to be asked twice, I don’t think that any of us knew the incredible amount of media and public excitement that this 70th birthday celebration would engender.

Birthday adulations

I for one have never imagined such an outpouring of adulation for a living composer as has taken place in honor of Steve Reich this past few months. From London to New York and now Los Angeles, Steve has been feted by audiences, musicians and critics alike. The Master Chorale and I have been unspeakably proud to be a part of this celebration, first through our concert at Lincoln Center as part of their ‘Great Performers’ series, and now tonight with the pairing of You Are (Variations) and Daniel Variations at Disney Hall. As we look back on the past few years since that first “Hail Mary Pass” of a letter to an iconic composer, it has been a truly incredible journey. To you Steve, all we can say is thanks for the wild ride!