THE MAESTRO
by Robin Boothroyd
I’ve been lucky enough to see Steve Reich perform his 1972 composition Clapping Music three times this year: twice at The Barbican and once at The BBC Proms. Each time the piece has revealed different depths. Last Saturday when I saw it the house lights went down, the stage plunged into darkness, two men emerged from the wings (Reich in signature baseball cap) and the performance began…
***
‘The Maestro’
commences
palm on palm
pure rhythm
in unison
pulls apart
a clamour of handclaps
pandemonium
a gradual phase back
reconvenes
in unison
pure rhythm
palm on palm
ceases
***
Watch Clapping Music below, performed by an unknown gentleman (l) and the composer himself (r).
The Cold Tap Sings 
🙂 really really great!
Erm…I seem to have commented on this myself! Natasha is that you still logged in as me?