steve reich - biography


1. Birth - College

Born in New York in 1936, the (formerly) Minimalist composer Steve Reich was the son of a lawyer (his father) and a singer and lyricist (his mother). His parents, who were both Jews of European heritage, divorced when Reich was a small child. He stayed with his father in New York, but took frequent train trips to Los Angeles to visit his mother, accompanied by his governess Virginia. These trips would become the inspiration for one of Reich's greatest pieces, Different Trains (1988).

His father, although not musical himself, insisted Reich take piano lessons, which he began at age seven. Feeling ambivalent about them, the young Reich quit the lessons at age ten. His musical awareness received a jump-start at the age of fourteen when, through the influence of two friends, he was exposed to jazz, Baroque music, and twentieth-century music. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring opened Reich's eyes to new musical possibilites: "I hadn't heard anything at all of the twentieth century. It was as if somebody had opened up a door saying 'You've been here all your life, but you haven't seen this room.' I just couldn't believe that such a thing could exist."

He was inspired by his exposure to Bach, which led him to research music from that point backwards in history, settling on Pérotin as a major influence. But it was in jazz that the young Reich found his future. He took up drums as his instrument, and studied with Roland Kohloff, who eventually became principal tympanist of the New York Philharmonic. Reich eventually formed a bebop quintet at around age fourteen, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke, and Miles Davis.

When Reich began his studies at Cornell University in 1953, he majored in philosophy. His main focus was Ludwig Wittgenstein (whom Reich wrote his thesis on), but on weekends he continued to play drums in his jazz band, entertaining at parties. Another major musical influence was his music-history professor, William Austin, who had a keen interest in twentieth-century music, jazz, world music, and early music. Through his encouragement, Reich found himself more and more drawn to composition, which became his focus by the time he reached graduation.