Steve Reich

Steve Reich and Musicians, sometimes credited as the Steve Reich Ensemble, is a musical ensemble founded and led by the American composer Steve Reich... to perform his compositions. This ensemble has premiered many of Reich's works and has performed his works more than any other. The ensemble received a Grammy Award in 1999. In 1966, Steve Reich founded his own ensemble of three musicians, which quickly grew to 18 members or more beginning with concerts in lofts and small galleries in New York City. Within a few years, especially after the success of Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, the group began touring nationally and internationally. The size of the ensemble has always fluctuated depending on the works to be performed, with the aforementioned "18 Musicians" being approximately the upper limit, but with many works such as Piano Phase or Clapping Music using only a pair of musicians. By organizing an ensemble of his own with which to perform his works, Reich, like fellow minimalist composer Philip Glass with his group, altered the traditional route by which classical composers sought to have their music disseminated.
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Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Elektra Records. Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP. To achieve this he initially... licensed European recordings of classical music as it would be too expensive to record new material. Originally the label concentrated heavily on chamber and baroque music, often with unique repertory, and typically sold at less-than-premium prices. Upon its formation, Nonesuch operated as a subsidiary label of Elektra Records—which Holzman launched in 1950. In 1970, Holzman sold Elektra and Nonesuch to Kinney National Company, which later became Warner Communications and later part of Time Warner's Warner Music. In 2004, Warner Music Group became an independently owned, publicly traded company. Holzman's tastes led to several firsts for the label, including early electronic releases.
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