Colin conducting The Hallé in their Steve Reich festival last year © Alex Burns
On Friday 27 June, Colin returns to conduct the Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall as part of the Manchester Classical 2025 festival. This follows his highly acclaimed conducting debut with the orchestra during the 2024 Steve Reich festival, where he also curated the programmes, and his immediate re-invite to take lead of their Philip Glass festival earlier this season.
This week, Colin will once again be joined by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood on bass guitar, for a programme of Reich’s Clapping Music, Runner, Pulse and Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings.
““Jonny Greenwood is very similar to myself as a Reich super fan...He would still be a musician without Steve Reich, but his life would not be the same. I would say the same thing about Radiohead, which would still exist without Steve Reich, but wouldn’t sound like the Radiohead that we know and love. He immediately jumped to the chance when I invited him.””
Last year’s Steve Reich concert garnered rave reviews for Colin:
'A sublime tribute to a master of minimalism. Music with this range of appeal has surely attained the status of classic, and the wonderful performances of six of Reich’s works explained why... In the evening’s biggest piece, The Four Sections, we heard a stark ritual quality and solemn joy… the pulsating, radiant close, brought to a climax with staggering energy by Currie.'
The Telegraph ★★★★★
'The Hallé’s celebration of the 87-year-old composer, curated by percussionist Colin Currie, opened with masterly performances of his intricate works, including the shimmeringly beautiful Music for Ensemble and Orchestra… Tightly corralled by Currie – a conductor with a percussionist’s instinct for meter – shimmering washes of sound and aching melodies coalesced in moments of iridescent splendour.'
The Guardian
'The music embarks on a great arc shape, expanding and slowing down, as if time itself were stretching out. It was brilliantly done by the Hallé players with Currie conducting. We also saw the accompanying abstract film by Gerhard Richter and Corinna Belz. Vivid pixel stripes morphed into rich patterns, saturated with colour and texture. The music mirrored its transformations — the effect was mesmerising.'
The Times