Colin Currie Group Ensemble

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1 Colin Currie Group Ensemble Reviews 'Being Modern: MoMA in Paris', Colin Currie Group residency / Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris "The implacable sound of the bongos mixes with the visual ballet... the marimbas answer each other in a sonorous halo where all the parameters of the sound intertwine and mix: rhythm, melody, timbre, texture." Bachtrack, December 2017 "At once exhilarating and contrasting, Drumming's interpretation by Colin Currie and his ensemble differs from the performances known until now: the British still more vigorously characterize their solo playing, reinforcing the dizzying dynamics of the work, to the point that there emerges a feeling of intense nervousness." Musikzen, December 2017 Steve Reich on the Colin Currie Group "One of the greatest musicians in the world today" In Herald Scotland, March 2013 Another performance that knocked my socks off was Colin Currie and his group doing Drumming at the South Bank [in London] this year. It was miked up high, it was expressionist, it was a brand new take. And I thought, Oh, we never could have done it that way. In Irish Times, July 2011 And now you listen to [British percussionist] Colin Currie play that piece and it'll knock your socks off. I wish we'd played with that intensity! In The Quietus, June 2011

2 Colin Currie Records: Drumming This recording of Steve Reich s percussion epic is thunderously exciting, thrusting us into the action. The Times, five stars, March 2018 "A blistering account of Reich s masterpiece and a spectacular first release for the Currie label. Classical Source, March 2018 Reich Drumming and Tehillim / Royal Festival Hall "...After an hour it was over. I was exhausted and elated just listening to it. I can t imagine the feelings of those performing." Times, May 2017 Reich Music for 18 Musicians / Royal Festival Hall The Colin Currie Group and Synergy Vocals delivered in spades. Their knowledge and understanding of Reich's music as well as their dedication and enthusiasm was evident in this mesmerising performance of three totally absorbing pieces, each different in scale and tone. Bachtrack, five stars, May 2016 "The joy here was the sense of communion between the visibly enthused performers and a beaming audience high on hypnotic percussion" Times, May 2016 Reich Music for 18 Musicians / Glasgow Royal Concert Hall a shimmering wash of sound in this mesmerising performance the ensemble drew the listener in completely to Reich's exquisitely ethereal soundscape. Herald Scotland, May 2015 Reich Quartet / Carnegie Hall A stirring performance led by the percussionist Colin Currie.. written for two vibraphones and two pianos, the 17-minute Quartet is Mr. Reich s first piece for those two instruments alone, and the combination is ingenious and seductive, and deployed with subtle craftsmanship. New York Times, October 2014 Helsinki Festival "The work of Colin Currie Group in Quartet was a delight to follow. These excellent musicians are perfectly at home with this music" Amfion, August 2015 "They work through Reich s music like a sculptor molding his piece" Rondo, August 2015

3 Reich Quartet (world premiere) / Queen Elizabeth Hall The performances, led by Currie, seemed exemplary. Each performance worked like a well-oiled machine, the players appearing to stroll from one instrument to the next. It s the musical equivalent of a high-wire act; everyone is striving mightily to seem relaxed, but we know disaster is only one slip away. Daily Telegraph, October 2014 Quartet has plenty of antecedents in Reich s output, both for its glittering, glamorous sound-world, and also its two-times-two pairing of instruments playing in canon (copying each other at a short distance). But it also connects with a specifically American tradition, at times fleetingly echoing Bernstein or even Sondheim Sextet for percussion and keyboards showed off the six musicians versatility as they moved from instrument to instrument. Financial Times, October 2014 Its grace belies its difficulty: it was played with an unassuming virtuosity and a wellnigh faultless sense of ensemble, in which mutual understanding is paramount... Both works demand immense reserves of stamina and concentration on the part of their players, challenges superbly met in performances at once hypnotic and thrilling. Guardian, October 2014 The all-reich programme included gripping accounts of those iridescent classics of rhythmic patterning Sextet and Mallet Quartet, and ended with the new, commissioned work. This 17-minute quartet proved more of the same suave Reichian thing: moiré patterns that tease us endlessly, until the actual end comes always with its touch of drama. Sunday Times, October 2014 Reich Music for 18 Musicians / Royal Festival Hall Reich's Music for 18 Musicians rarely comes better presented than it was by the Colin Currie Group... The performance was technically impeccable and musically overwhelming; richly deserving of the lengthy standing ovation. Guardian, five stars, November 2013 Currie and his chamber group gave scintillating performances of three Reich classics, culminating in a magnificent account of his chef d oeuvre, Music for 18 Musicians. The Festival Hall acoustic was perfect, allowing it to create the impression of a complex mobile gracefully turning, in which each musician played an independent and eloquent part. It was one thing and many things, simultaneously static and bursting with event: a joyful conundrum. Independent, five stars, November 2013 As for this performance it s hard to imagine any better the ensemble played with focus and ease. This was apparently Currie s first time performing the piece, but you wouldn t have guessed, and his ensemble were brilliantly drilled and bursting with enthusiasm. Bachtrack, five stars, November 2013

4 Reich Drumming / Glasgow Royal Concert Hall I do not expect to hear this remarkable hour-long piece played better. Reich may now be an avowedly non-orchestral composer, but when all nine percussionists are playing the three marimbas on stage, and the whole is topped off by the two female singers of Synergy Vocals, if the sound is not exactly lush, it is hard to imagine music that is any richer. Herald Scotland, March 2013 The ensemble didn t hang about, moving swiftly from section to section in an already fast-paced performance. But by the glorious conclusion, which joyously blended all we d heard before, the group had achieved an almost spiritual beauty. An exceptional performance. Scotsman, March 2013 Reich Drumming / Queen Elizabeth Hall Watching the Colin Currie Group performing Reich's early-seventies landmark work Drumming, one is struck by the intense levels of concentration required to bring the 70-minute piece successfully through its various stages. Currie's 12-piece ensemble is exceptionally focused, and the result holds the audience rapt throughout its duration. Independent, five stars, April 2011 Sound Festival Aberdeen To be able to sustain this level of complexity from such simple basic material was a tour de force for both composer and performers. As an experience in sound, this was a revelation but it packed a powerful visual punch as well. Herald Scotland

5 Powered by TCPDF ( Queen Elizabeth Hall Held together by eye contact, ear contact, intimate understanding of the score and collective breathing, the performance was both aurally and visually exciting a work of art and also one of craft at its most disciplined and alert. Independent, February 2010 There was a real sense of occasion at this performance. The Colin Currie Group did not put a foot wrong, blending from one sound-world to the next with ideal subtlety and building quite a head of elation by the end. Financial Times, February 2010 This [performance] felt decidedly more intimate, taking the listener deeper into Reich s sound world. And it s not a world without the charm and nuance of the chamber music that more usually occupies the QEH, at least not when performed with this degree of finesse and moment-by-moment satisfaction from its participants. Times, February 2010 This was a mesmerizing performance from the Colin Currie Group, which was highly appreciated by the Queen Elizabeth Hall s capacity audience Seen & Heard International, February 2010 This was a mesmerising performance masterminded by Colin Currie from all angles, a revelation Classical Source, February 2010 Intermusica represents Colin Currie Group worldwide Catherine Gibbs, Associate Director , cgibbs@intermusica.co.uk Kate Caro, Associate Director, imagine , kcaro@intermusica.co.uk