Steve Reich - Recordings on Ecm

"Steve Reich - Recordings on ECM" brings together, as Pitchfork put it, “some of the most outstanding works by minimalist composer Steve Reich, including the definitive recording of his undisputed masterpiece, *Music for 18 Musicians*.” The collection includes the three Steve Reich albums released on the label between 1978 and 1982. They are released as faithful facsimile editions in a high-quality cardboard slipcase with a booklet containing photos from the archive, manuscript pages, and liner notes by Paul Griffiths. Made directly from the original analog master tapes (AAA), the three vinyl editions allow these groundbreaking recordings—which have long been part of the canon of contemporary music—to shine anew in their original sound quality. The three albums feature the works *Music for 18 Musicians*, *Octet*, *Music for a Large Ensemble*, *Violin Phase*, and *Tehillim*, thus documenting the composer’s influential early creative phase as well as his artistic development over a period of fifteen years. The box set will be released to mark Steve Reich’s 90th birthday in October 2026. “Much has already been written about the famed ECM Recordings. Suffice it to say that they confirm Reich’s ability to convey the pulse and spirit of American urban life as brilliantly as Gershwin did 30 years earlier. Even the unity that emerges from out-of-phase quasi-chaos is revelatory. Recorded from 1976 to 1981, the works’ emphasis on percussive sounds makes for anything but soothing background listening. It’s all fabulous stuff. Although listening to multiple works in one sitting could possibly induce numbness—taken one at a time, they are as exhilarating as they are essential.” – Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile Magazine