Steve Reich, a leading figure in contemporary American classical music and a pioneer of minimalism, recently premiered his newest composition, *In All Your Ways*, at the Edinburgh International Festival in August. The 18-minute instrumental piece anticipates Reich’s 90th birthday, celebrated in October, and represents a fresh exploration in his decades-long career marked by pulse-driven repetition and subtle rhythmic shifts.

In a recent interview from New York, Reich discussed his compositional approach to *In All Your Ways*, noting a shift in his usual method. Historically, he has mapped out harmonic structures early in the process—a practice dating back to his 1970s work *Music for 18 Musicians*. For this piece, he assigned key signatures such as three sharps and five flats to delineate sections. However, feeling a desire to break new ground, Reich experimented with incorporating slower movements into the predominantly fast-paced composition to provide moments of breathing space—an approach he had not previously employed. He described this mid-composition insertion of slower sections as a form of "surgery" that was both challenging and rewarding.

The piece draws inspiration from a biblical source, specifically Proverbs 3:6. Reich has a longstanding engagement with sacred texts in his music, having composed *Tehillim* in Hebrew in 1981. While *In All Your Ways* uses only the first four words from the proverb—“in all your ways”—he explained that this fragment allowed for expansive musical interpretation beyond the original spiritual context.

Reich reflected candidly on his creative process at nearly 90 years old, emphasizing the importance of maintaining personal engagement and enthusiasm in his work. If a composition begins to bore him, he admitted that he discards it. His recent experience with *In All Your Ways* was marked by a willingness to challenge his own norms and adapt midstream, which he found invigorating.

When asked about the preferred setting for listening to his music, Reich stated that he has never been concerned with the format or context, simply hoping that audiences appreciate it.

Reich also spoke about technology’s evolving role in music, from his early adoption of MIDI technology in 1985 to current developments in artificial intelligence. Although he sees AI as a powerful and significant force, he does not incorporate it into his own composition, expressing skepticism about its creative capacities. He acknowledged that technological advances inevitably alter the artistic landscape, citing how computer-generated mock-ups helped him realize pieces like *Different Trains*.

Regarding contemporary popular music, Reich indicated that he has not kept closely connected to recent trends, but highlighted his continued admiration for artists like Radiohead and Paul McCartney. His collaboration with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood remains a notable artistic relationship.

*In All Your Ways* exemplifies Reich’s enduring commitment to innovation within his signature minimalist framework, even as he approaches a milestone birthday and reflects on a prolific, transformative career.