Steve Reich / John Adams "Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards" / Shaker Loops”

Steve Reich / John Adams -San Francisco Symphony
Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards / Shaker Loops
Philips (Holland) 1984
412 214-1 (LP)
sleeve : VG( SPSE: large peel-off on front.)
media : EX-/EX-(some light surface noises.)

A 1984 album of compositions composed by Steve Reich, a world-renowned composer of contemporary music, and John Adams, an American composer who has also produced excellent works for the ECM New Series and other labels, and performed by the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Edo de Waart. Side A is an orchestral piece composed by Reich in 1979 and first performed by the San Francisco Symphony in 1980. It was released between Octet and Tehillim, a time when Reich was returning to his Jewish roots and deepening his exploration of chanting, and the minimalist refrains of the phrases fold over to create new harmonies that create dramatic soundscapes. The performance by the San Francisco Symphony is so outstanding that, despite being over 21 minutes long, you lose all sense of time as you lose yourself in the world of sound. The B-side is a 1978 composition by Adams, featuring three violins, one viola, two cellos, one double bass and a string ensemble of three violins, one viola, two cellos and one double bass. It is a suite in four parts. A moving world of dramatic developments with contrasts of stillness and movement in the solemnly resounding minimalist string sounds.