Steve Reich – Reich: Drumming; Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ; Six Pianos (3xLP)

Steve Reich's Drumming; Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ; Six Pianos returns in a substantial 2026 Deutsche Grammophon edition tied to the composer's 90th birthday, revisiting the original 1974 recording that helped fix Reich's early minimalist language on record. Captured with Steve Reich and Musicians in Hamburg, the set centres on the full 85-minute Drumming, then his longest work to date, alongside two 1973 pieces that show how his rhythmic processes could expand into very different instrumental colours.

What makes this set so compelling is how clearly it documents Reich at a pivotal moment. Drumming grows from a single rhythmic idea across four connected parts, while Six Pianos turns repeated figures into a bright, shifting keyboard web. Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ balances pulsing percussion with voices and organ, revealing how Reich could make tiny changes in alignment and duration feel almost architectural. Together, these performances capture the precision and concentration that made the 1974 release such an important early statement in his catalogue.

For vinyl listeners, this edition is more than a routine repress. It is the first time these recordings have been remastered and cut directly from the original edited 4-track tapes at Emil Berliner Studios in a fully analogue AAA process, with no digital stage. The presentation also leans into the album's history, restoring the original cover art and Reich's liner notes while adding session photographs, facsimiles of the recording logs and tape boxes, and further archival material.

Features

• 3xLP, 180g, The Original Source Series, Numbered Limited Edition
• 100% analogue AAA remastering and cutting from the original edited 4-track tapes at Emil Berliner Studios
• Mastered by Rainer Maillard and cut by Sidney C. Meyer
• Includes Reich's original liner notes, session photos, facsimiles of the original recording logs and tape boxes, and additional archival material
• Authentic original-style packaging in a clamshell or lift-off box with original cover art

Reviews

• one of the most important works in the minimalist canon - The Guardian