Various Artists: Reich: Drumming; Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ; Six Pianos 3LP
In celebration of the composer’s 90th birthday in October 2026, Deutsche Grammophon re-presents Steve Reich’s iconic 1974 3-LP set in its original format and in a brand new pure analogue mastering & cutting by Emil Berliner Studios.
Recorded in the Polydor Studios in Hamburg in January 1974, this 3-LP release was a landmark in Reich’s career, and a prescient endorsement by a prestigious label of a burgeoning minimalist composer. It comprised his longest work to date, Drumming (1970–71), lasting nearly an hour and a half, and two later works, Six Pianos and Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (both 1973).
This 3-LP all-analogue reissue presents the definitive recordings of these works, with members of the Steve Reich Ensemble and the composer himself; and will be the first time this release has been mastered and cut directly from the original edited 4-track tapes.
Numbered, limited-edition, and housed in a hinged lift-off-lid box, the recording is presented with original artwork and a 32-page booklet that includes session photographs, facsimiles of the original recording logs, and the composer’s original liner notes. Plus, an extensive essay by former Deutsche Grammophon executive, David Butchart, charting in detail the inception and release of the recordings as documented in personal correspondence between Reich and his DG producer Rudolf Werner. A certificate with a second article by Rainer Maillard (Emil Berliner Studios) written especially for this new edition examines the fascinating tape situation of this recording and shines a light on the mixing and cutting process for this ‘Original Source’ release.
Tracklist:
LP 1 - Drumming
Side A
1. Part I
Side B
1. Part II
LP 2 - Drumming
Side C
1. Part III
Side D
1. Part IV
LP 3
Side E
1. Six Pianos
Side F
1. Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices And Organ
Limited to 4 per customer.