Steve Reich: Recordings on ECM

Compiling “some of the minimalist composer’s finest works, including the definitive recording of his undisputed masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians” (Pitchfork), Recordings on ECM comprises the three Steve Reich albums that were released on the label between 1978-1982, presented as facsimile editions housed in a high-quality cardboard box with a booklet containing photos from the archives, manuscript pages and liner notes by Paul Griffiths. Sourced from the original analogue master tapes (AAA), these vinyl editions authentically re-introduced the listener to recordings that have since become staples in contemporary music. The works included on these three albums are Music for 18 Musicians, Octet, Music for a Large Ensemble, Violin Phase and Tehillim, tracing the influential early creative period of the composer and his development over the course of fifteen years. The box-set arrives on the occasion of Reich’s 90th birthday in October 2026.

“About the famed ECM Recordings, much has already been written. Suffice to say that they confirm that Reich could convey the pulse and spirit of American urban life as brilliantly as Gershwin did 30 years earlier. Even the unity that arises from out of phase quasi-chaos is revelatory. Recorded 1976–1981, the works' emphasis on percussive sounds makes for anything but soothing background listening. It's all fabulous stuff. Although listening to multiple works in one sitting could possibly induce numbness – taken one at a time, they are as exhilarating as they are essential.” – Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile Magazine

Composer - Steve Reich

Conductor - George Manahan

Voices - Pamela Wood, Cheryl Bensman, Rebecca Armstrong, Jay Clayton, Elizabeth Arnold, Pamela Fraley

Keyboards - Steve Reich, Nurit Tilles, Edmund Niemann, Larry Karush, James Preiss, Steve Chambers, David van Tieghem, Jay Clayton

Percussion and Mallets - Steve Reich, Bob Becker, Russ Hartenberger, Garry Kvistad, Gary Schall, Glen Velez, Richard Schwarz, James Preiss, David van Tieghem

Woodwinds - Virgil Blackwell, Mort Silver, Vivian Burdick, Ellen Bardekoff, Richard Cohen, Ed Joffe, Vincent Gnojek

Brass - Douglas Hedwig, Marshall Farr, James Hamlin, James Dooley

Strings - Shem Guibbory, Robert Chausow, Ruth Siegler, Claire Bergmann, Chris Finckel, Michael Finkel, Ken Ishii, Lewis Paer, Judith Sugarman

Tracklisting:

LP1 Music For 18 Musicians

A1. 01 | Music For 18 Musicians: Pulse - Sections I-IV

B1. 01 | Music For 18 Musicians: Sections V-X – Pulse

LP2 Octet – Music for a Large Ensemble – Violin Phase

A1. 01 | Music for a Large Ensemble

A2. 02 | Violin Phase

B1. 01 | Octet

LP3 Tehillim

A1. 01 | Pt. 1 – Pt. 2

B1. 01 | Pt. 3 – Pt. 4