1. Prologue (Glass) 17:02
2. Act One: Scene One (Moran) 12:39
3. Scene Two (Moran) 13:04
4. Scene Three (Glass) 3:34
5. Bird Song (Glass) 2:08
6. Epilogue (Moran) 3:18
7.Act Two: Scene One (Glass) 7:48
8. Interlude (Moran) 2:19
9. Scene Two (Moran) 7:13
10. Final Scene - Trio (Moran) 4:26

Janet Brown – Soprano
Lynn Torgove – Soprano
Jayne West - Soprano
Valerie Walters - Mezzo-Soprano
William Cotten 	- Tenor
Thomas Derrah - Tenor 
David Stoneman - Baritone
The Juniper Tree Opera Orchestra 	
Richard Pittman - Conductor
Arthur Yorinks 	Librettist

Commissioned by the American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA.

This opera may be unique in that Glass and fellow composer Robert Moran collaborated in virtually equal degree on its composition. A glass scene is followed by a Moran scene, with transitions composed by each. The result is fascinating hybrid, each composer holding to his own identity while melding with the other.

SYNOPSIS

The famous Grimm fairy tale tells of a Wicked Stepmother who murders her stepson and serves him up in a stew to his unsuspecting father. The boy’s sister buries her brother’s bones under a Juniper Tree, and the child’s spirit returns as a singing bird who wreaks vengeance on the evil Stepmother before being restored to life in the bosom of his family. Despite its somewhat savage themes (infanticide and cannibalism!), The Juniper Tree is a warm-hearted, if eerie work that leaves a distinctly poetic, happy impression. And it is one of the most tuneful operas in the Glass repertory. --- musicsalesclassical.com

THE JUNIPER TREE was given its world premiere (and 32 performances) via the American Repertory Theater, 1985-86; it has been performed by Houston Grand Opera, by the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia, by Minnesota Opera, and Tulsa Opera; a production in Germany had great public success. --- robertmorancomposer.com

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1. Where Everything is Music
2. The Needle
3. Don't Go Back to Sleep
4. In the Arc of Your Mallet
5. My Worst Habit
6. Like This
7. Stereo Gram
8. Let the Letter Read You
9. Boy Beach and Ball
10. They Say Paradise Will Be Perfect
11. The New Rule
12. An Artist Comes to Paint You
13. Boy on Fire

Marie Mascari  - Soprano 
Alexandra Montano - Mezzo-Soprano 
Gregory Purnhagen - Baritone 
Peter Stewart - Bass 
The Philip Glass Ensemble
Michael Riesman – Conductor, Mixing

Monsters of Grace - A digital opera in three dimensions for ensemble and soloists.
Poems by Jalaluddin Rumi, translated and adapted from the original by Coleman Barks.

Over the last three years , Bob Wilson and I have been meeting to work on a new theater piece, Monsters of Grace. Since Einstein on the Beach in 76, we have come together on several occasions to make new work, but unlike those projects, with this present work, we have had a real opportunity to sit together and engage in a new world of ideas. Of course inage, music and structure are at the root of what we are thinking. We are, moreover, addressing a challange of a new technology and it's impact of a developing artistic view. It is fair to say that as an on going process, it is still fluid, elusive, and for us, full of surprise.— Philip Glass, 1997, philipglass.com

Monsters of Grace, the 1997 Philip Glass/Robert Wilson collaboration, marked a new direction for Wilson; this opera consisted of an animated film accompanied by singers in the pit with the instrumentalists rather than on-stage. Difficulties in communicating Wilson's vision to the animators left both collaborators dissatisfied with the result, and the opera hasn't established itself as one of their most performed works, but regardless of the work's future as a theater piece, it's good to have a recording that preserves the music. The texts are based on Coleman Barks' translations of the poetry of Jeleluddin Rumi, the thirteenth century Sufi poet. There is no traditional narrative arc or any apparent relationship of the texts to the title of the piece, but each of Rumi's poems is a miracle of astonishing imagination. Glass' orchestration convincingly incorporates a Middle Eastern sound in its imitation of string and wind instruments of the region, giving the piece a regional specificity that's not present in the "character" operas of his trilogy. His text setting in English is uneven; the opening song, "Where Everything Is Music," is awkwardly set, but others are completely convincing. The songs in which he uses more than one voice, or which are conceived chorally, are generally more effective than the solo songs. His setting of "Like This," one of Rumi's most celebrated poems, is entirely graceful, transcendently lovely, and profound. It's the most conventionally "Glassian" music in the opera, and easily the musical high point; it's also proof that the expressive possibilities of the composer's trademark idiom are far from exhausted. Glass' stellar ensemble is joined by the excellent vocal quartet of Marie Mascari, Alexandra Montano, Gregory Purnhagen, and Peter Stewart. The release fills a major gap in the recorded account of Glass' work. The album should be of interest to any fans of minimalism, and the depth and subtlety of "Like This" are powerful enough to make the composer's most skeptical critics reevaluate their prejudices. --- Stephen Eddins, Rovi

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1 	Part I - Opening 	8:05
2 	Part I 	13:11
3 	Part II 	12:10
4 	Part III 	10:16
5 	Part IV 	12:07
6 	Part IV - Closing 	4:38

Helsinki Ooppera Skaala:
Petri Bäckström - Tenor 
Vikke Häkkinen - Baritone
Linda Hedlund - Violin
Laura Heinonen - Soprano
Jari Hiekkapelto - Music Direction
Satu Jaatinen - Mezzo-Soprano
Janne Lehmusvuo - Direction
Essi Luttinen - Mezzo-Soprano
Minna Luukka - Children's Voices
Riku Pelo - Bass
Max Savikangas – Viola

The work, written for the Dutch theater artist Rob Malasch, is conceived as and abstract music theater work which would the be “completed” by the various future directors. It is for this reason that though the work has a clear emotional shape, it has no specific theatrical content. ---philipglass.com

A Madrigal Opera (1979) was the first opera Philip Glass wrote after the revolutionary Einstein on the Beach of 1976, and in some ways it strays even further from the conventions of traditional opera than Einstein had. Glass conceived of it as a piece for dramatic presentation, but he provides only the music, leaving all dramatic elements to be determined by the director who produced it. Its use of non-meaningful syllables gives even less of a hint of a dramatic or narrative trajectory than Einstein. On the other hand, Glass' musical language is more restricted than that of Einstein, with far less variety, making it closer to his more purely minimal works that had preceded Einstein. The limited musical parameters -- six solo voices singing almost entirely homophonically, using bland triadic harmony, accompanied only by violin or viola -- make it a considerably less engaging work, especially when experienced purely aurally. The relentlessness of the clumpy vocal writing induces a sense of the kind of sameness that gave minimalism a bad name. The CD lists poet Lauri Otonkoski as a collaborator, but her contribution, which was part of the production at Skaala Opera Helsinki, from which this recording is taken, is not evident on the album. Several of the tracks are for solo string instrument, played beautifully by violinist Linda Hedlund or violist Max Savikangas, and they are far more satisfying than the tracks that include voices. The vocal parts are so ungratefully written that the singers don't make much of an impact. Only the final chorus offers any hints of the elegant and expressive choruses of Satya Graha that Glass composed the following year. The voices sound somewhat distant, but the strings are clear. This is an album that's likely to be of interest primarily to hardcore Glass fans who want to hear everything he has composed. ---Stephen Eddins, AllMusic Review

Philip Glass - A Madrigal Opera, opera w permanentnym toku. Wszystko, co prócz muzyki możemy wyczytać z partytury A Madrigal Opera Philipa Glassa to data kompozycji (rok 1979) i obsada (sześć głosów: sopran, dwa mezzosoprany, tenor, baryton, bas oraz skromne instrumentarium – skrzypce i altówka). To czteroczęściowa kameralna opera pozbawiona określonego libretta, dzięki czemu może być konstruowana przez reżysera podług jego wyobraźni, może być dowolnie kształtowana dramaturgicznie, jedynym drogowskazem jest kompozycja Glassa. A drogowskaz to sylabiczny, repetytywny i pełen napięć, szczególnie dobrze wyczuwalnych w ascetycznej strukturze utworu. ---operarara.pl

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1 	Naqoyqatsi 	4:56
2 	Massman 	6:56
3 	New World 	3:48
4 	Intensive Time 	5:36
5 	Old World 	3:38
6 	Point Blank 	7:14
7 	The Vivid Unknown 	7:33

Matt Haimovitz - cello
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Dennis Russell Davies - conductor

As the subtitle indicates, the music in the Cello Concerto No. 2 ("Naqoyqatsi") of Philip Glass is not new but is drawn from the score to the film of that title composed by Glass in 2002. Though the term is drawn from Hopi cosmology, the film used a good deal of computer-assisted imagery to address the theme of the relationship between technology and the natural world. Glass' music, as usual, is entirely performed on conventional orchestral instruments. The original score had a prominent cello part, performed on the soundtrack recording by Yo-Yo Ma, and Glass has here boiled the original score, with perhaps a dozen cuts, down to seven movements that seem to make a vaguely linear sequence. The music is a good example of Glass' mature film scores, which may endure as his most lasting works; it combines the composer's characteristic minimal textures with more elaborate cello lines, some involving lightly extended techniques, that seem to evoke the metaphysical concept under examination ("Massman," "Intensive Time," "Point Blank," etc.). Although there's nothing new here, the version makes an attractively sized package of Glass, and listeners without access to the film may well prefer it as more coherent in this form. The realization is very strong. Cellist Matt Haimovitz, who has specialized in experimental mixtures of concert and vernacular traditions, acquits himself in such a way that no one will be thinking about Yo-Yo Ma; Glass' solo parts, although not virtuosic in a fancy way, aren't easy, for they require the composer's ensemble concepts to be sustained over long periods. Haimovitz soars. Another attraction is the superlative live recording in Cincinnati's venerable Music Hall; it would be hard to think of a venue that would be better in providing the resonant yet clean acoustic Glass' music demands. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted a lot of Glass in his time, catches the grander moments of the score without giving them the pounding quality they take in inferior Glass performances. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

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1.Dracula
2.Journey to the Inn
3.The Inn
4.The Crypt
5.Carriage Without a Driver
6.The Castle
7.The Drawing Room
8."Excellent, Mr. Renfield"
9.The Three Consorts of Dracula
10.The Storm
11.Horrible Tragedy
12.London Fog
13.In the Theatre
14.Lucy's Bitten
15.Seward Sanatorium
16.Renfield
17.In His Cell
8.When the Dream Comes
19.Dracula Enters
20.Or a Wolf
21.Women in White
22.Renfield in the Drawing Room
23.Dr. Van Helsing and Dracula
24.Mina on the Terrace
25.Mina's Bedroom / The Abbey
26.The End of Dracula
27.Dracula: Epilogue

Michael Riesman - piano

In 2004 Orange Mountain Music released an album of solo piano transcriptions of Philip Glass’ Oscar and Golden Globe nominated score to The Hours. These transcriptions were done by Glass’ longtime Music Director and pianist Michael Riesman.

Mr Riesman’s solo piano transcription of The Hours score proved so successful that Orange Mountain Music was inspired to approach Riesman again to make an arrangement of Glass’ haunting score to Todd Browning’s 1931 classic Dracula which starred Bela Lugosi.

Glass’ original score was written for string quartet and was recorded and toured by the Kronos Quartet. This new arrangement of the score is treated to a truly virtuosic performance by Michael Riesman and includes a previously unrecorded track which was composed by Glass but was left out of the soundtrack recording. Riesman’s extraordinary playing brings life and phenomenal craftsmanship to a seemingly timeless musical score. --- philipglass.com

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01. Mato Grasso [11:54]
02. Itaipu - The Lake ( O Lago) [8:23]
03. Itaipu - The Dam (A Represa) [11:17]
04. Itaipu - To the Sea (Ao Mar) [4:52]		play

Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon - conductor

05. There are Some Men (Leonard Cohen) [2:52]
06. Quand les Hommes (Raymond Levesque) [2:59]
07. Pierre de Soleil (Octavio Paz) [4:02]		play

Crouch End Festival Chorus
David Temple – conductor

Orange Mountain Music presents this album of choral music by Philip Glass. The first work on the record is a re-issue of the Los Angeles Master Chorale's performance of Glass' large-scale orchestra and choral oratorio Itaipu. The piece was inspired by the giant hydro-electric dam in Brazil. It was part of a series of pieces Glass has done involving depictions of nature, man's relationship to nature, and also more generally fell into a recurrent theme in Glass' catalog involving the country of Brazil. Itaipu is conducted by Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director Grant Gershon. The second work on the album is Philip Glass' only work for chorus a cappella. Three Songs are set to poems by three prominent writers, Leonard Cohen, Octavio Paz, and Raymond Levesque. Three Songs is performed by the Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by David Temple and is a re-issue of the Silva Screen recording of the work from 2000. ---Editorial Reviews

Itaipú Premiered on November 2, 1989 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Shaw, Itaipú is a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra set to a Guaraní text. Itaipú is the world’s largest dam located on the border between Paraguay and Brazil. The piece is cast in four movements: Mato Grosso, The Lake, The Dam, To the Sea. The piece is part of the composer’s interest Brazil, but also in indigenous cultures of the Americas which continues to this day.

Itaipú also belongs to a part of Glass’ catalog that presents poetic depictions of people, places, traditions, and ideas. This series of works include operas about figures like Einstein, Gandhi, Akhnaten, Galileo, Kepler, Columbus; orchestral pieces like The Canyon, Days & Nights in Rocinha (the neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro), The Light (the Michelson-Morely experiments) and reflections on wisdom traditions in Symphony No.5 “Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya,” and Symphony No.7 “A Toltec Symphony.”

Three Songs for Chorus a Cappella Commissioned and written for the Québec Festival 1534-1984, Three Songs for Chorus a Cappella presents three short pieces set to poems by three different North American poets. The first song, There are Some Men, is by singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen (whose poetry was later the basis of an evening length song-cycle by Glass titled Book of Longing.) The second song, Quand les Hommes vivront d’Amour, by singer-songwriter/poet/artist Raymond Lévesque is a wish for peace and happiness through love. The third song, Pierre de Soleil, by poet Octavio Paz is mediation on existential selflessness (“les autres qui me donnent l’existence.”) Philip Glass has consistently written for choruses throughout his career including major operas (Satyagraha, The Voyage) and large orchestral works (symphonies Nos. 5 & 7, Passion of Ramakrishna). However, Three Songs is unique as the composer’s only a cappella choral work.

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1.Music With Changing Parts (Parts 1-4)		61:38

Organ [Electric] – Steve Chambers
Organ [Electric], Flute [Alto] – Philip Glass
Organ [Electric], Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Voice – Jon Gibson
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Piccolo Flute, Voice – Dickie Landry
Trumpet, Flute, Voice – Robert Prado
Violin [Electric], Voice – Barbara Benary 

When “Music With Changing Parts” premiered in New York in1970 it was at once revolutionary, persistent, repetitive, annoying, hypnotic, challenging, and otherworldly. People walked out while others were completely mesmerized. The future had arrived and Philip Glass (then 48) was our cultural time traveler. Tonight’s unrelenting performance at Davis Symphony Hall was also confrontational, the way meditation is; Cyclical, both historically and as a spiraling composition, and spellbinding if you can surrender completely to it. After decades of assimilating Glass’s minimalist vernacular it seems more timeless than futuristic, like the 81-year-old composer who astutely played keyboard.

A few people walked out, certainly not as many as in the 70s. Some fell asleep, most took turns letting their eyes drift from the stage to the audience, ceiling, program, watches, as others sat on the edge of their seats, forcing themselves to keep up and to stay present with this transcendent composition. Musicians and chorus worked equally hard not to trance-out and to keep exact with Michael Riesman’s conducting. Riesman was also one of the five keyboardists and was flanked by music director and principal chorus conductor, Valérie-Sainte-Agathe, whose lioness mane and feathery black gown brought levity and theatrics to this seriously muscular performance.

“Music With Changing Parts” is arranged as an open score that allows for interpretation, not only by the number of instruments used but also its duration. It can be played with seven to nine musicians. This evening it was presented in its recently updated version with the San Francisco Girls Chorus and Students of the Conservatory of Music, 35 total and an ensemble of 15 musicians. It has been performed from an hour to two hours, with this performance clocking in at an hour-and-a-half. “MWCP” is unique among Glass’s works in that it was created with the most allowance for improvisation, primarily by the conductor more than musicians, as they extend and reiterate brief melodic fragments creating a sonic landscape—a sound that is both industrial and as mechanical as the workings of a clock and, as natural and organic as variations of a rainstorm or as intense and electrifying as chorus of Amazonian insects.

The hypnotic sound it creates, with the velocity of a train passing through one’s psyche, is something that Glass once swore he wouldn’t produce in other works, calling it a “bit too psychedelic” for his liking. He thinks of this work as transitional within his very prolific 1970s period and only recently returned to it by enlarging the original score with a brass and vocal arrangement. Both enhance “MWCP” handsomely, with the chorus greatly unifying and harmonizing all the independent and moveable parts—like a net thrown into space. In one segment both chorus and brass unite as one sound, at other times the chorus is a simple drone. When least expected, they engage in a chirping-like melody.

From the immediate start it’s clear that “Music With Changing Parts” will have to end as abruptly as it began. However, the introduction a four-four count that ushers in a tangible, more popular melody of descending chords during the last minutes of the piece is surprising. It’s as if being pulled and condensed from this cosmic stratosphere of sound into a pop melody on the radio. Perhaps this recognizable melody is built-in to bring the ensemble into a more finite and earthly reality, since they are all playing different places in the composition. However, as Riesman gestured the last four-four count, the ensemble slid into the final note rather than stopped on a dime. Without pause, forgoing a dramatic silent break that “MWCP” so much deserved, Riesman turned to the audience that already had jumped to their feet in ovation.

“Music With Changing Parts” is still changing, as is Glass. With the passage of nearly half a century, it is inspiring to see Glass perform live, to see how well his music—and he himself– have held up over time. Few contemporary composers have overlayed their signature into the cultural Psyche and contemporary history as pervasively as Glass. It’s hard not to be humbled by his enormous contribution or to feel honor in his presence. ---David E. Moreno

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The Hours - Suite for Piano & Orchestra (Arr. Riesman)
1. 	Movement I 	10'19"
2. 	Movement II 	7'04"
3. 	 Movement III 	6'47"

Symphony No.3
4. 	Movement I 	4'38"
5. 	Movement II 	6'15"
6. 	Movement III 	10'06"
7. 	Movement IV 	3'29

Michael Riesman, piano
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
Anne Manson, conductor

In this new recording made at Canada's famous Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC in Toronto, conductor and Philip Glass champion Anne Manson leads pianist Michael Riesman and her own Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in a tour de force performance of Glass's Oscar nominated music from The Hours and a virtuosic performance of Glass's Symphony No.3. Riesman, conductor and pianist on the original soundtrack recording of The Hours, was commissioned in 2002 to create a concert piece based on the score. Glass's third symphony was written in 1995 for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and is one of the composer's most performed and accessible concert works. This recording shows off the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra's versatility, especially in the quick paced second and fourth movements, as well as the ensemble's silky interpretation of the many-layered voices of the third movement, all under the precise direction of Manson. ---forcedexposure.com

This fantastic new Philip Glass album features two of the composer’s best instrumental scores. The soundtrack to The Hours has here been arranged by pianist Michael Riesman into a piano concerto, with brief orchestral introduction and outer movements which build to climaxes of real emotional power. As a concerto, it’s terrific, something any fan of minimalism should appreciate. There is a sense of dramatic momentum which is remarkable given that the piece was originally incidental music to a film. One shouldn’t be surprised by Riesman’s authenticity as an arranger or effectiveness as a pianist: he has arranged for Glass many times in the past, joined the Philip Glass Ensemble in 1974, and produced the original soundtrack to The Hours.

The Symphony No. 3 has now received three major recordings, and it fully deserves the attention. The first movement makes an enigmatic introduction, but the real genius lies in the work’s second half. Before a finale which absolutely screams James Bond thriller music we have a ten-minute slow movement of staggering beauty. It’s a black pearl, which I’ve sometimes referred to as Pachelbel’s Canon’s evil twin or spiritual opposite. From a beginning of a few repeated chords for violas and cellos, Glass adds new ideas in careful layers: underpinning double bass and then one violin, two violins, all the violins blooming together in slow motion. This is one of my favorite moments from any living composers. If all the music Philip Glass ever wrote was in a burning building and I could only save one thing, I would instinctively reach for the slow movement of the Third Symphony.

As I said, the symphony’s now appeared on three discs; Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra with Dennis Russell Davies, Bournemouth Symphony with Marin Alsop, and this one. In some ways the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra’s performance is the one to get: it’s more sharply etched than Bournemouth/Alsop, more closely miked and with a properly-sized chamber orchestra that brings every line into close focus. Anne Manson conducts like an expert. Russell Davies is the other chamber orchestra recording, and its first movement is more pointed and assertive, but it pretty clearly cedes to this newcomer in the two last parts, which are also my two favorites: the sharp detailing of the new recording really pays off, as does the strong drive Manson brings to the finale.

Only after I’d listened several times did I realize this was a live concert broadcast. Now my hat is off to the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, truly an unlikely ensemble to play this music so incredibly well, and I have to give this the highest possible praise. This is now an essential part of my Philip Glass collection. This is the kind of album that can win converts over to a great composer. ---Brian Reinhart, musicweb-international.com

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1 	Movement I: Heroes 	5:53
2 	Movement II: Abdulmajid 	8:53
3 	Movement III: Sense Of Doubt 	7:20
4 	Movement IV: Sounds Of The Silent Age 	8:18
5 	Movement V: Neukoln 	6:41
6 	Movement VI: V2 Schneider 	6:48

Sinfonieorchester Basel
Dennis Russell Davies - conductor

Philip Glass' Symphony No. 4 ("Heroes"), like his Symphony No. 1 ("Low"), was based on an album by David Bowie that had contributions from avant-garde producer and composer Brian Eno. Glass has written of the influence Bowie and Eno exerted on his musical thinking; the fact that his interaction with multi-million-selling rock royalty had resulted in one of his most successful albums might also have played a role in his decision to return to Bowie's music. In any event, for those who liked the Low Symphony, this music draws on a further experimental step forward by Bowie and Eno. In essence its language is similar to that of the earlier work, with Bowie's short, angular themes underlaid by Glass' arpeggiated string figures instead of Eno's electronics. The Glass version has the general texture, if not the harmonic language, of other classical arrangements of rock music, and it might actually be easier on the ears for listeners new to both Glass and Bowie than the original Bowie album. Bowie has stated his admiration for the work, especially for the dark "Neuköln" movement, which comes off especially well in Glass' hands. Conductor Dennis Russell Davies has recorded this work once before, with the American Composers Orchestra; this new reading on Glass' own Orange Mountain Music label is acoustically superior. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

Orange Mountain Music presents a new recording by the Basel Sinfonieorchester of Philip Glass Symphony No.4 "Heroes". This new recording conducted by Glass champion Dennis Russell Davies is a shimmering rendition of the work. Only the third recording of the Symphony, it has been 18 years since the last one, the previous recording was recorded in the studio sectionally whereas this new OMM recording was made live in Basel Switzerland and captures the vitality and beauty of the work as never heard before. Recorded less than a year after the Orange Mountain Music recording of the companion piece Symphony No.1 "Low", Glass states in discussing the work of Bowie and Eno: "The continuing influence of these works has secured their stature as part of the new "classics" of our time. Just as composers of the past have turned to music of their time to fashion new works, the work of Bowie and Eno became an inspiration and point of departure of symphonies of my own" ---prestomusic.com

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Concerto for Violin and Orchestra [25:06]
01. Quarter = 104-120 [6:39]
02. Quarter = ca. 108 [8:46]
03. 150-Coda: Poco meno, Quarter = 104 [9:41]

Low Symphony [42:37]
04. Subterraneans [15:12]
05. Some are [11:22]
06. Warszawa [16:05]

Gidon Kremer - Violin
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Christoph von Dohnanyi – conductor (1-3)
Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra 
Dennis Russel Davies – conductor (4-6)

Glass composed his Violin Concerto, his first orchestral work since his student days, between November 1986 and February 1987 on commission from the American Composers Orchestra, which gave the work's premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies on April 5, 1987, with the composer's long-time friend and collaborator Paul Zukofsky as soloist. Though the work is scored for standard orchestra without the electronics that give a characteristic sonority to so many of Glass' compositions, he said that "the piece explores what an orchestra can do for me. In it, I'm more interested in my own sound than in the capability of particular orchestral instruments. It is tailored to my musical needs." The Concerto's form evolved as Glass worked with its musical ideas ("the material finds it own voice," he explained), and finally settled into a conventional three-movement fast-slow-fast arrangement with a reflective coda added at the end. Glass sees the genre of the concerto as "more theatrical and more personal" than the purely orchestral forms, and the soloist in this work finds an individuality that sets it apart from the larger ensemble, sometimes strewing lightning-flash cascades of arpeggios upon the pulsing background chords, sometimes soaring over them with spacious, arching, cantabile lines.— Richard E. Rodda, philipglass.com

The "Low" Symphony, composed in the Spring of 1992, is based on the record "Low" by David Bowie and Brian Eno first released in 1977. The record consisted of a number of songs and instrumentals and used techniques which were similar to procedures used by composers working in new and experimental music. As such, this record was widely appreciated by musicians working both in the field of "pop" music and in experimental music and was a landmark work of that period.

I've taken themes from three of the instrumentals on the record and, combining them with material of my own, have used them as the basis of three movements of the Symphony. Movement one comes from "Subterraneans," movement two from "Some Are" and movement three from "Warszawa."

My approach was to treat the themes very much as if they were my own and allow their transformations to follow my own compositional bent when possible. In practice, however, Bowie and Eno's music certainly influenced how I worked, leading me to sometimes surprising musical conclusions. In the end I think I arrived at something of a real collaboration between my music and theirs. — Philip Glass, philipglass.com

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