Steve Reich Turns 90 and Returns With 'In All Your Ways'

Steve Reich turns 90 this month, and he's marking the milestone with a new piece. The composer's latest work, 'In All Your Ways', arrives alongside birthday celebrations featuring his music through October.

Reich doesn't mince words about the piece. He called it "one of the best things I've done in a long time" — a strong claim from a composer whose catalog reshaped late-20th-century music.

Who is Steve Reich?

For readers new to him: Reich is a founding figure of minimalism in music (a style built on repeated rhythmic patterns that shift gradually). Works like his phase-shifting experiments made repetition itself a structural engine, influencing everyone from chamber ensembles to electronic producers.

At 90, he remains a working composer rather than a commemorative figure. The new piece is the evidence.

What does this change for audiences?

The practical answer: this month's birthday programming gives listeners a rare concentrated dose of Reich's music, old and new, in live settings. That includes 'In All Your Ways', which now enters the active repertory rather than arriving as an archival footnote.

A premiere from a 90-year-old also resets expectations about late-career output. Reich's own assessment — "one of the best things I've done in a long time" — frames the piece as a genuine late addition to his standing catalog, not a ceremonial bow.

Why the composer's verdict matters

Composers are often cautious about ranking their own work. Reich's directness here does two things. It signals his own confidence in the piece, and it gives programmers and critics a frame they'll inevitably test against the score in performance.

The birthday celebrations this month will supply that test. Audiences attending can hear the new work alongside the pieces that built his reputation, and judge the late entry against the standard he set himself.