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Steve Reich and Bach

9 - 10 June 2023

In the Utzon Room | Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Classical Music

JS Bach and Steve Reich might be centuries apart, but their precise, clear and rich musical languages make compelling partners in this intimate concert.

Glittering Harmonies

A rush of pure energy, Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet showcases his masterful use of minimal instrumentation to create a rich and dramatic sound. BBC Music Magazine described this as vintage Reich: “A smooth minimalist sheen on the surface [belying] structures that are beguilingly complex”.

Bach’s music is centuries away from minimalism, but in common with Reich’s Quartet, has a driving momentum that propels his glittering harmonies forward – qualities that make his work immensely satisfying to hear. In Bach’s oboe concerto, here arranged for percussion, oboe and strings, that sense of motion provides energy for a bright, joyful work.

The Debussy Rhapsodie is a famous orchestral piece, arranged here for oboe and strings by our Principal Cor Anglais, Alexandre Oguey. It is a beautiful, intimate rendition of Debussy’s colourful music.


Programme
DEBUSSY arr. OGUEY Rhapsodie 
JS BACH arr. OGUEY & CONSTABLE Concerto in D, BWV 1053R 
STEVE REICH Mallet Quartet

Artists
Sydney Symphony Orchestra Musicians
David Campbell, Sophie Cole, Timothy Constable, Rosemary Curtin, Fenella Gill, Rebecca Lagos, Alexandre Oguey, Mark Robinson

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Other information

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