Mallet Quartet

Mallet Quartet is a composition by Steve Reich scored for two marimbas and two vibraphones; four marimbas; or one percussionist and tape. It was co-commissioned by the Amadinda Quartet in Budapest, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, by Nexus in Toronto, So Percussion in New York, and Synergy Percussion in Australia. It received its World premiere in December 2009 at the Bela Bartók National Concert Hall in Hungary and its US premiere at Stanford University on January 9, 2010.^[1][2]

Structure

Mallet Quartet is in three movements, with its entirety lasting around 14 minutes:

1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Fast

The second movement, slow, is one of his most thinly textured works with acoustic instrumentation, as admitted by Reich himself.

Performance

The piece can either be played with 2 marimbas and 2 vibraphones, or with 4 marimbas. There is no version for solo percussion and tape.

References

Steve Reich
Compositions	It's Gonna Rain (1965) Come Out (1966) Reed Phase (1966) Piano Phase (1967) Violin Phase (1967) Pendulum Music (1968) Four Organs (1970) Drumming (1970–1971) Clapping Music (1972) Six Pianos (1973) Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973) Music for 18 Musicians (1974–1976) Music for a Large Ensemble (1978) Octet (1979) Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards (1979) Tehillim (1981) Vermont Counterpoint (1982) Eight Lines (1983) The Desert Music (1984) Sextet (1984) New York Counterpoint (1985) The Four Sections (1987) Electric Counterpoint (1987) Different Trains (1988) The Cave (1993) City Life (1994) Proverb (1995) Triple Quartet (1998) Three Tales (1998–2002) Cello Counterpoint (2003) Daniel Variations (2006) Double Sextet (2007) 2×5 (2008) Mallet Quartet (2009) WTC 9/11 (2010) Radio Rewrite (2012)
Related articles	Minimal music Steve Reich and Musicians Terry Riley Kronos Quartet
Category:Steve Reich