Reich, Adams, and Rachmaninoff at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Reichs riveting Runner uses a large ensemble and a constant pulse, drawing melodic threads from its shifting textures. Minimalist melody is also a theme of John Adams Grawemeyer-winning Violin Concerto, for which he crafted his hypermelody, calling on the soloist to spin one long phrase after another without stop. Acknowledged as one of the greatest gifts to contemporary composers, Leila Josefowicz is fearlessly up to the challenge. From two American composers to a piece written by a Russian after he moved to the United States, Rachmaninoffs Symphonic Dances was the composers final orchestral work and summed up his lifes work with nods to chants and his own earlier music while looking forward to the new harmonic language of the 20th century.