Celebrating a Master

Though Steve Reich remains one of most highly regarded living composers in the realm of contemporary classical (aka “new music”), the unyielding precision that characterizes his compositions still presents a major obstacle for average listeners who might all too often want to ask, “that’s neat and all, but where’s the feeling?”

As Reich ages and his gravitation to Jewish mysticism intensifies, his composing radiates more and more with a spiritual presence that extends beyond the hypnotic effect the music has always had. More importantly, recent releases sound looser and even reflect a tangible feeling of joy. Reich turned 70 on October 3, and the day was also marked by a dance event at BAM, the first in a flurry of events that run through November 4 in a coordinated effort between the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to celebrate the composer.

Reich’s preoccupation with intentionally out-of-sync rhythms—how they intersect, overlap, contradict and create unexpected pockets of sound together—borders on obsessive. Delving into his vast body of work, one quickly learns that the composer's intense, microscopic focus on detail is inescapable and obliterates virtually any trace of the right-brain intuition that many of us would say forms the basis of music in the first place.

On the other hand, pulse plays a fundamental role in Reich’s music, much as it does in our own biology. And if one were to honestly try and convey the pure, chaotic indifference with which rhythms are flung about in the natural world, the result would sound a lot like a Reich piece. Factor in the mechanisms of modern life—not to mention how irresistibly his influence can manifest itself in any genre—and it becomes clear why Reich’s mind initially struck a chord decades ago and resonates even more deeply now. (It’s no accident that one of the most widely-recognized examples of the “minimalist” style that Reich and his peers Philip Glass, Terry Riley and LaMonte Young collectively trailblazed was Glass’ soundtrack to the film, Koyannisquatsi, which visually juxtaposes man-made processes with nature.)

For those who still find Reich’s music too remote, the dance events that continue at BAM this week come highly recommended, as dance tends to—literally—flesh out his creations in real space and bridge them to the listener’s sense of movement and touch. Both BAM and choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker share a long history with Reich and so she presents her piece, Fase, four movements to the music of Steve Reich set to Violin Phase, Piano Phase, Clapping Music, and Come Out. On the more contemporary side, Fase is followed by British choreographer Akram Khan and the appropriately adventurous London Sinfonietta for the North American premiere of Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings. It’s sure to be an evening of precise cadences and movement blending together into fluid grace.

Oct. 5-7, Howard Gilman Opera House,

30 Lafayette Ave. (betw. Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.), 718-636-4100; 7:30; $16-$55.