Customer Reviews
Essential but disappointing - By: Nathan Truesdale, 14 Sep 2003 
Reich's output continues to be steady & considered; his releases, while perhaps not as frequent as other contemporaries, tend to provide quality of both composition & performance rather than regularity of release.
It's a shame, then, that "Triple Quartet" fails to live up to what we have come to expect. Kronos made an excellent job with a powerful performance of Different Trains; yet the rhythmic drive, easy accessibility & sense of fun that Triple Quartet provides for are strangely missing here. While the performance is certainly proficient, a sparkle is simply missing, & the intensity that pervades "Different Trains" just ain't there. This may be due to the use of tapes in "Triple"; the stereo possibilities of the full live ensemble are something that was not exploited, & while Reich wrote the work for one live quartet & tape, it's a shame that the recording doesn't have the full band.
Don't let that distract from that fact that this is a superb piece - nothing profound, perhaps, but great fun & an important addition to the quartet / string orchestra repertoire. Think John Adams' "Shaker Loops" meets "Music for Eighteen Musicians" & you're there. As great an introduction to Reich for the uninitiated as it is a delight for those who converted to him long ago!
Reich's evolving talent consistantly outshining Glass - By: Hywel (hywel.morgan@abingdon.org.uk), 20 Dec 2001 
As can be expected from Steve Reich another outstanding C.D.. Again he shows his ability to write warm, dramatic, & rich textures with his trademark repetitive element. Triple Quartet (which contains similar soundworlds to his previous string piece Different Trains) is a three movement work for three string quartets (two on tape & one live - Kronos). It is arranged fast-slow-fast & goes through the harmonic cycle of E min, G min, B-flat min, C-sharp min, & back to E min to form the cycle. Several emotions are displayed in a piece which is more expressive than any other of Reich's previous pieces (with the exception perhaps of City Life). The other three pieces - Electric Guitar Phase (a reworking of Violin Phase [1967] in D min), Music for Large Ensemble & Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint are alll classic interpretations of classic Reich works. Glass, Riley, Young, Nyman, Fitkin & Moran - forget it. Truely great works, & excellent value for money from the greatest & most economical composer ever - Steve Reich.
