Steve Reich's Different Trains meets the Borromeo String Quartet -- on ThoughtCast!

Summary:

The Borromeo String Quartet tackles renowned composer Steve Reich's notoriously difficult "Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape" with stirring results -- on ThoughtCast!

Website:

http://www.thoughtcast.org

Additional Credits and Funding:

photo of string quartet by Christian Steiner

Tones:

Emotional, NPR NewsMagazine-y, Sound Rich

Language:

English

Description:

Steve Reich is perhaps the preeminent composer living today, and one of his most heart-wrenching and affecting works is called "Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape". It tells the story of Steve Reich's early childhood -- his train trips between the East and West coasts to visit his separated parents -- and also of the train trips Jews were forced to take during the Holocaust.
The piece, commissioned by the Kronos Quartet in 1988, is notoriously difficult to play. But the Borromeo String Quartet has recently taken up the challenge. ThoughtCast's Jenny Attiyeh attended a rehearsal at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where the Borromeo is currently in residence.

Available in 4 versions:

7 mins in stereo - highly recommended - it's worth it!
7 mins in mono
4:30 mins in stereo with 10 extra secs of audio at close - totals 4:40
4:30 mins in mono with 10 extra secs of audio at close - totals 4:40

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