Performance

Music for 18 Musicians

3 upcoming performances in New York

Steve Reich’s *Music for 18 Musicians* is a landmark of American minimalism, built from a chain of pulsing sections that cycle through a set of harmonies and gradually shift in color and emphasis. It first took shape in New York City in the mid-1970s, where Reich refined the score in rehearsal and premiered it in 1976, helping define a downtown-to-uptown musical moment. At Park Avenue Armory, Alan Pierson joins Alarm Will Sound, members of the Steve Reich Ensemble, and Manhattan School of Music musicians across three generations. One clear fact remains: the piece makes ensemble timekeeping the subject, not just the means.