Kuniko - Plays Reich II
(Linn Records, 2024)
Japanese percussionist Kuniko Kato (from here on “Kuniko”) began her recording career with her 2012 release, Plays Reich (Linn Records), bringing it full circle with the present Plays Reich II. In between, the percussionist released the well-received Linn recordings, Cantus (2013), Counterpoint: Kuniko Plays Reich (2014), Iannis Xenakis: IX (2015), J.S. Bach: Solo Works for Marimba (2017), Steve Reich: Drumming (2018), and Tribute to Miyoshi (2021). During that time, Kuniko has established herself as the premier percussionist internationally, as well as the finest interpreter of the music of Steve Reich.
The Composer Steve Reich is best known for his part in developing minimal music with John Adams, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, and Terry Riley. Its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons marks Reich’s compositional approach. The composer defines his method as an emphasis on perceptible evolutions: a consistent change within the performance that is clear, detectible, and understandable.
On Plays Reich II, Kuniko plays a tightly focused recital of four pieces that illustrate Reich’s compositional style. Reich composed “Four Organs” in 1970, scoring the piece for maraca and four electronic organs. Kuniko adopts a precise approach to the piece, stating each figure twice before adding a new sonic element. The effect is one that changes the notes played and added, each for how long, accomplishing a sonic elastic effect that stretches horizontally as well as vertically. Kuniko instills an element of drama into an otherwise almost tedious piece that had, according to Michael Tilson Thomas, who attended a 1973 Carnegie Hall performance had “One woman walk[ing] down the aisle…repeatedly band[ing] her head on the front of the stage, wailing ‘Stop, stop, I confess.’” 1
Kuniko transposed “Piano Phase” (1967) for marimba. The piece illustrates Reiche’s experimenting with “Phasing” where he presented one or more repeated figures played slower or faster than others, causing the figures to go out of phase. Think of the aftermath of a fragment of the canon “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” being assaulted in a New York City subway station. With this method, Reich created new musical sequences that Kuniko captures and, again, provides an element of drama and expectation. As was true with “Four Organs,” the coda is abrupt and jarring. “Nagoya Marimbas” (1994) is the shortest piece, clocking in at just under five minutes. Kuniko takes advantage of the resonant quality of the instrument to layer the performance, clearly defining its changes and evolution.
The last piece is also the most recent, “Mallet Quartet” (2009) was scored for two marimbas and two vibraphones. Kuniko is at her best navigating the mathematical terrain of Reich’s score, coaxing from it the personality of the music: anxious, busy, frenetic. Kuniko never ceases to surprise and amaze.
Byrnes, Sholto (October 2, 2006). "The Face: Steve Reich". The Times. London. Retrieved May 2, 2010.