Phases - A Nonesuch Retrospective

Disc 1
1	Music for 18 Musicians, f
2	Music for 18 Musicians, f
3	Music for 18 Musicians, f
4	Music for 18 Musicians, f
5	Music for 18 Musicians, f
6	Music for 18 Musicians, f
7	Music for 18 Musicians, f
8	Music for 18 Musicians, f
9	Music for 18 Musicians, f
10	Music for 18 Musicians, f
11	Music for 18 Musicians, f
12	Music for 18 Musicians, f
13	Music for 18 Musicians, f
14	Music for 18 Musicians, f
Disc 2
1	Different Trains, for dou
2	Different Trains, for dou
3	Different Trains, for dou
4	Tehillim, for 3 sopranos,
5	Tehillim, for 3 sopranos,
6	Tehillim, for 3 sopranos,
7	Tehillim, for 3 sopranos,
8	Eight Lines (revision of
Disc 3
1	You Are (Variations), for
2	You Are (Variations), for
3	You Are (Variations), for
4	You Are (Variations), for
5	New York Counterpoint, fo
6	New York Counterpoint, fo
7	New York Counterpoint, fo
8	Cello Counterpoint, for c
9	Electric Counterpoint, fo
10	Electric Counterpoint, fo
11	Electric Counterpoint, fo
12	Triple Quartet, for 3 str
13	Triple Quartet, for 3 str
14	Triple Quartet, for 3 str
Disc 4
1	Come Out, for tape
2	Proverb, for 3 sopranos,
3	The Desert Music, chamber
4	The Desert Music, chamber
5	The Desert Music, chamber
6	The Desert Music, chamber
7	The Desert Music, chamber
8	The Desert Music, chamber
9	The Desert Music, chamber
Disc 5
1	Music for Mallet Instrume
2	Drumming, for 2 female vo
3	Drumming, for 2 female vo
4	Drumming, for 2 female vo
5	Drumming, for 2 female vo
Phases - A Nonesuch Retrospective
1.	Music for 18 Musicians, for 4 female voices & 16 instruments 1:07:36
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Steve Reich, Steve Reich and Steve Reich and Musicians
2.	Different Trains, for double string quartet & tape 26:58
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Kronos Quartet
3.	Tehillim, for 3 sopranos, alto, winds, strings, percussion & keyboards 30:30
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Barbara Borden, Percussion Group The Hague, Schoenberg Ensemble, Yvonne Benschop, Ananda Goud and Tannie Willemstijn
	Conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw
4.	Eight Lines (revision of "Octet"), for chamber orchestra 17:29
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Conducted by Bradley Lubman
	Performed by Bang On A Can
5.	You Are (Variations), for chorus & ensemble 26:59
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Los Angeles Master Chorale
	Conducted by Grant Gershon
6.	New York Counterpoint, for clarinet, bass clarinet & tape 11:21
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Evan Ziporyn
7.	Cello Counterpoint, for cello & pre-recorded tape (or 8 cellos) 11:38
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Maya Beiser
8.	Electric Counterpoint, for electric guitar, bass guitar & tape 14:49
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Pat Metheny
9.	Triple Quartet, for 3 string quartets 14:42
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Kronos Quartet
10.	Come Out, for tape 12:59
	Composed by Steve Reich
11.	Proverb, for 3 sopranos, 2 tenors, 2 vibes & 2 organs 14:11
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Conducted by Paul Hillier
	Performed by Theatre of Voices and Members of the Steve Reich Ensemble
12.	The Desert Music, chamber version 48:00
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Bob Becker, Members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Russ Hartenberger, Garry Kvistad, Frances Martin, Donald Palma, Julie Rosenfeld, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, Steve Reich and Musicians, Glen Velez, Sharon Prater and Deborah Redding
	Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
13.	Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ, for 3 female voices, 3 marimbas, 3 glockenspiels, vibes & organ 16:58
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Steve Reich and Steve Reich and Musicians
14.	Drumming, for 2 female voices, piccolo, 4 pairs of bongos, 3 marimbas & 3 glockenspiels 56:42
	Composed by Steve Reich
	Performed by Steve Reich, Steve Reich, Steve Reich, Steve Reich and Steve Reich and Musicians

All Music Guide

Steve Reich has a remarkable arrangement for a composer in that he is an exclusive artist for Nonesuch and has been so for more than two decades. Back in 1996, when Reich celebrated his 60th birthday, Nonesuch issued a 10-CD box set of "everything" -- all of the works in the Warner Classics vaults that he had recorded, including some new at the time, such as Steve Reich: Works 1965-1995. With Reich's 70th birthday afoot, the earlier set still in print and Nonesuch belonging to a classical music division that is operating on one lung, it has decided on a more modest approach to the newer observance with Steve Reich: Phases -- A Nonesuch Retrospective, a collection consisting of five discs. It is an apt description, as apart from "Come Out," everything on this compilation was recorded originally for Nonesuch and produced by Judith Sherman between 1984 and 2005. There is nothing new here, and Steve Reich: Phases -- A Nonesuch Retrospective incorporates the whole of his most recent Nonesuch album, You Are (Variations), along with the Nonesuch recordings of The Desert Music, Drumming, and Music for 18 Musicians, all works occupying complete Nonesuch discs. In the first three cases, Nonesuch has added works to flesh the discs out to fill more time than the originals occupied.

Reich has done relatively little recording for Nonesuch since 1996, and much of what there has been is rather difficult to compile into a collection like this one; Reich's operas "The Cave" and "Three Tales" are not things even the most disinterested of producers would care to carve into. One development since 1996 that has added considerable interest to Reich's recorded canon is the increasing number of artists other than Steve Reich and Musicians, and specific players for whom he fulfills commissions, who are learning, performing, and recording Reich's work. While Reich is an expert performer of his own music, without others coming into the fold his output will succumb to "Harry Partch Syndrome," a condition whereby the music becomes more or less unperformable after the passing of the composer. There is no reasonable way for Nonesuch to reflect such a wide array of more recent developments in recorded Reichiana -- that is best left to those who enjoy collecting Reich recordings of the single-disc variety. However, there's no denying that Steve Reich: Phases -- A Nonesuch Retrospective is a tremendous bargain; you can get most of his key works here along with others in authoritative readings in a package totaling nearly 400 minutes for roughly the price of a two-disc set. If you have a Reich-loving relative this would make a superb gift, or want to even just test the waters with Steve Reich: Phases -- A Nonesuch Retrospective, which is a very generous and comprehensive starting point. It seems strange to praise a collection of the music of Steve Reich from the standpoint of economics, so it should be mentioned that all of these Nonesuch recordings are, or were, state of the art when made and reflect Reich's intentions to a "T." Uncle Dave Lewis

Chicago Tribune

Listeners who have yet to experience the singular aural sensation [Reich's] music can create should not miss the opportunity. John von Rhein

New York Sun

For a Reich fan -- or a prospective one -- "Phases" is just the thing. Jay Nordlinger