Comments on: Philip Glass

By: David

David — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:45:03 +0000

Now, as noted earlier, I’m very much a Glass fan, but I tossed Mvt. I, Concerto Fantasy without finishing listening to it. Gives gratuitous bombast a bad name.

By: Xanthippas

Xanthippas — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:42:23 +0000

Goodness, thank you! I love Philip Glass, and have since I first heard him. I imagine he will remain one of my favorite composers.

By: Substance McGravitas

Substance McGravitas — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:14:41 +0000

I hope Mvt. I, Concerto Fantasy is some sort of joke because I laughed quite a lot.

By: Sock Puppet of the Great Satan

Sock Puppet of the Great Satan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:17:02 +0000

“I gave up on him completely after Akhnaten, which I found unlistenable. I’ll check out the string quartets though.”

Funny, I heard a amateur production of Akhnaten, and found it wonderful. But I saw him in concert (“Monsters of Grace”) and found it disappointing. Recordings of his works I’ve enjoyed greatly. Love Adams, ever since hearing “A Short Ride in A Fast Machine” on the Old Grey Whistle Test.

By: NomadUK

NomadUK — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:26:57 +0000

Thanks for that, d.e. Gotta love teh Internets.

By: Substance McGravitas

Substance McGravitas — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:26:40 +0000

Many thanks!

By: d.e.

d.e. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:51:37 +0000

[sorry, I decided to delete the link d.e. provided, since it went to a source that offered a download option ‘for readers of C.T’. Normally I wouldn’t consider myself responsible for potentially legally fraught download links to material hosted by others. But in this case having the link on C.T. might be considered legally dicey. (Just because they are giving it away on Amazon doesn’t mean we have the right to give it away blahblahblahfineprint.)

sorry to be an IP party-pooper.] – the Management

By: Z

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:14:01 +0000

Love Philip Glass, always have, especially Song from the trilogy and Glassworks.

By: MikeJ

MikeJ — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:36:14 +0000

That’s all right. I’m sure someone will download it and then promptly upload it onto some server somewhere so I can — er, could get it, if I were willing to do such a nefarious thing as download a piece of music otherwise being given away for free.

I’m allowed to download it and still so much of a pain in the ass to go through three or four clicks for each track that I can’t be arsed. Even when they give stuff away it’s still more inconvenient than the way normal people use the internet.

By: LFC

LFC — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:02:34 +0000

This has nothing to do with Philip Glass. I just want to compliment Felix Holt on his (or, less likely, her) clever choice of a handle. I hope that, somewhere, George Eliot is smiling.

By: Kenny Easwaran

Kenny Easwaran — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:39:03 +0000

@4 – that’s one of my favorite Simpsons lines ever!

And I don’t know which combination of previous commenters I’m agreeing with or disagreeing with when I say that Ligeti, Reich, and Adams are probably my three favorite composers of the last few decades (though I’ll admit that Adams is a bit uneven, and I haven’t heard what Reich’s been up to in the last several years). I think of Ligeti as combining American minimalism with European music of the ‘60s, while I suppose Adams combines American minimalism with Mahler and the like.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:27:20 +0000

I second the the high praise for the score for The Hours. I refuse to watch the movie again because I don’t want to associate the music with any scene or emotion other than my utter attachment to the rhythmic melodies of Glass’s creation.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:02:23 +0000

I’m such a fan that when his birthday comes around I sing:

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
…

A couple of years ago I heard the Kronos Quartet play, I think, Penderecki’s third quartet, which started out slow and got even slower, which should have been excruciating because it was so minimalist, but was entrancing instead.

A reminder to Americans: on Wednesday, 21 October, PBS will broadcast the L.A. Philharmonic’s opening concert with a new work by John Adams, “City Noir.” I heard the live broadcast and I’m looking forward to hearing it again.

By: Mrs Tilton

Mrs Tilton — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:08:43 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, now; I really like Glass. But Steve @15 has him well and truly taped. To this day I am amazed that a composer could make an entire career out of an arpeggio.

It’s a very nice arpeggio, mind.

By: Lee A. Arnold

Lee A. Arnold — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:07:01 +0000

Reich is in my favorite playlist (in this order):

Sir Thomas Tallis (England, c. 1505 ~~1585)—“Spem in alium” 10:04 min. (written c. 1570)— a 40~~part motet, performed by Huelgas Ensemble; conducted by Paul Hillier (Sony Classical)

Olivier Messiaen (France, 1908-1992)—“Plusieurs Oiseaux des arbres de Vie” 2:50 (1982)—for 18 woodwinds, (9th movement of “Éclairs sur l’au-delà…”), Orchestre de l’Opera Bastille; Myung-Whun Chun (Deutsche Grammophon)

Kaija Saariaho (Finland, born 1952)—“Lichtbogen” 14:47 (1985-86)—for string quintet, percussion, piano, flute, harp, and live electronics, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne; Lorraine Vaillancourt (UMMUS: University of Montreal, out of print) …another performance available by Avanti Chamber; Hannu Lintu (Ondine)

Steve Reich (U.S., born 1936)—“Proverb” 14:11 min. (1995)—text by Wittgenstein, “How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life”—for three sopranos, two tenors, two vibraphones, and two electric organs, Theatre of Voices with members of the Steve Reich Ensemble; Paul Hillier (Nonesuch)

Kaija Saariaho—“Windows” 10:05 (5th movement of “Maa,” a ballet, 1991)—for voice, strings, flute, harp, synthesizer, and live electronics, performed by a Finnish ensemble under the composer (Ondine)

Ingram Marshall (U.S., born 1942)—“Hidden Voices” 19:09 (1989)—micro-collage sui generis of Eastern European and Russian ethnic vocal lamentation and church bells, digitally processed, plus soprano and strings, realized by the composer (Elektra Nonesuch)