re:mote voices

Title: Different Trains
Composer: Steve Reich
Presented by: BBC 2

On tonight’s The Culture Show on BBC 2 there was a feature on Steve Reich, talking about Different Trains. The minimalist composer originally wrote this piece of music in 1987, which was reflecting his childhood in the 1930’s with world events. The idea being that at the same time he was in America, taking different trains back and forth between his separated parents, there were people in Europe taking different trains to Auschwitz. The piece makes use of the voices of holocaust survivors, and as such it is being used as part of the holocaust memorial season on BBC2. Tonight’s feature on The Culture Show can be seen again on BBC2 Friday night, 11.35 pm, where he talks about the piece, and we hear some parts of Different Trains played by The Smith Quartet. This new performance is part of “Holocaust: A Music Memorial Film From Auschwitz”, which can be seen on BBC 2 on Saturday night at 9pm.