Steve Reich’s Nagoya Marimbas
LA Phil Principal Percussionist Matthew Howard teams up with Eduardo Meneses for Reich’s minimalistic duet.
In a brilliant display of collaborative virtuosity, Matthew Howard, Principal Percussion of the LA Phil, and Eduardo Meneses, Principal Percussion of the Santa Barbara Symphony, perform Steve Reich’s duet Nagoya Marimbas, commissioned by the Nagoya College of Music (Japan). To the ear, the piece resembles early Reich (1960s and ’70s), with repeating patterns played out of phase with each other. However, the patterns are more highly developed melodically and change more frequently; each is repeated no more than two or three times, creating a quintessentially minimalist sound world but compressed into five minutes. Since its composition in 1994, Nagoya Marimbas has risen to become a staple of percussion repertoire.
Courtesy of Hendon Music, Inc., by arrangement with Concord
Related Stories
LA Phil Etudes
Curated by Creative Chair John Adams, the LA Phil Etudes is a series of solo works by some of today’s leading composers written to spotlight each instrument of the orchestra.
.jpeg?w=350&h=210&f=cover&fx=50&fy=50)
A Bridge Between Mural and Music
Judy Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles finds new life in a symphonic collaboration that bridges public art, music, and collective memory.
Green Umbrella: Inside the LA Phil’s Laboratory for New Music
Over the last four decades, Green Umbrella has been the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s trademark series for adventurous, ambitious new music.
Sounding the Space of Un/Belonging
Angélica Negrón curates a program that challenges and expands notions of belonging and identity.
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil rehearse Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga
Go behind the scenes as they bring the LA Phil commission to life.
Terry Riley's Early Years in California
How a pioneer of minimalism got tuned-in from way out west.