On April 8th, an elegant ceremony honoring composer Steve Reich with the Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art, awarded by Petra Schneebauer, Ambassador of Austria to the United States, took place in New York. The event was hosted by Austrian Consul General Helene Steinhäusl and the musical contribution was sponsored by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

The Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art (Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is the highest award of the Republic of Austria for outstanding achievements in the field of science and art. The award is conferred by the Federal President.

Steve Reich, born on October 3, 1936 in New York, has made remarkable contributions to the field of music and art throughout his career. His innovative compositions and dedication to exploring new musical forms have earned him international recognition. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and was referred to as “America’s greatest living composer” by The New York Times.

As supporting program, four talented musicians (Gregory Harrington/violin, Jeremy Klein/viola, Helenmarie Vassiliou/violin and Sebastian Stöger/cello) performed Steve Reich’s piece “Different Trains,” a work written for string quartet and pre-recorded performance tape. It was first performed in 1988 by the Kronos Quartet and won the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. “Different Trains” is a piece about World War II and the Holocaust. Steve Reich compares and contrasts his childhood memories of his train journeys between New York and California in 1939–1941 with the very different trains being used to transport contemporaneous European children to their deaths under Nazi rule. The composition was described as "the only adequate musical response - one of the few adequate artistic responses in any medium – to the Holocaust.“

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Photos: © ACFNY-Funes-Rainer