Steve Reich premiere on BBC webcast

BBC Radio 3 broadcast an unscheduled Steve Reich premiere yesterday evening. Reich was making a guest appearance on Radio 3's In Tune programme to celebrate his upcoming 70th birthday. The live interview with presenter Sean Rafferty was interrupted by an unfamiliar Reich composition which turned out to be the ringtone on his mobile (cell) phone. It took several moments for the embarassed composer to locate the offending phone in a pocket of his voluminous coat, during which time listeners were treated to some exclusive Reich. You can hear this premiere via the BBC 'listen again' service until 23rd March, the performance is 100 minutes into the programme.

Presenter Sean Rafferty was nonplussed. At least it was a composer, and it wasn't a concert ....

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If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to Pianissimo

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Anonymous said…
speaking of minimalist ringtones, have you heard about this...?

American Composers Orchestra to Auction Ringtones by Philip Glass and Meredith Monk
6:54 pm
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