The string quartets

"All these works were written for the Kronos quartet and have been recorded by them, though on different discs ... However, Reich encouraged the Mivos Quartet to record all three on one disc and this is certainly more convenient for those coming to these works new. The composer was present at the recording sessions and he obviously approves of the performances, which are very assured. The recording is good, but the sleeve note only moderately helpful: it does not, for example, include the words of the two works which use them and it tells us nothing about the performers. So there are two works which I see as documents of their time, but the Triple Quartet is really quite wonderful".

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"This time the use of manipulated speech in WTC 9/11 ... come from air traffic controllers and bystanders near the World Trade Center on that fateful day ... The whole piece is a chilling recollection. There is nothing emollient about the quartet sound and quite rightly not a whiff of sentimentality ... Altogether a fascinating look at recent Reich, attractively packaged".

"The Tana are not as rhythmically taut as the Kronos ... but make up for this with playing that's admirably supple and tonally variegated".

"Tradition and innovation have always forged strong alliances in Steve Reich's music, and his three string quartets illustrate this perhaps more than any other genre. Presented here for the first time as a complete set by the excellent Mivos Quartet, the quartet medium is transformed into a superensemble of multiple groups through the addition of several pre-recorded lines, while additional layers of speech recordings and sound effects are employed in 'Different Trains' and 'WTC 9/11' ... In all three respects, Mivos have come up trumps".