January 27, 2016

by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

By the time the members of this impressive percussion ensemble joined forces in 2005, the composer Steve Reich was already a grandfather figure in the American new-music scene. So as the percussionist Robert Dillon writes in the liner notes to this beguiling CD, his group’s responsibility is ‘not to document this repertoire — it no longer needs basic preservation — but rather, to put our own stamp on it.’ It’s above all a sensual approach to tone color that comes through in Third Coast’s take on classic works, whether it’s the relaxed warmth of the Mallet Quartet or the glistening brightness of ‘Music for Pieces of Wood.’ Joined by the pianists David Friend and Oliver Hagen, the ensemble also finds full-blooded drama in the Sextet, which contains within its five movements a world of expressions from impish charm to almost oppressive darkness.

Read the original article here.

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