Philip Glass

Started by Henk, June 01, 2008, 12:25:41 PM

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M forever

Quote from: 71 dB on June 05, 2008, 07:59:31 AM
Let me guess, Philip called you a genius?

No. Why would he? I am obviously not a genius. I just play the bass very well. But I can't hear "multi-dimensional vibrational fields" like a real genius can. ;)

I thanked him for writing so much fun stuff for the basses into the concerto, and he was apparently satisfied with how we played. At first he said that the opening (which is pretty much for solo cello and bass section alone) should only be moderately loud (I think it said mf), but then he said, you guys sound so good, you can play much louder if you want  :D And we did. On the DVD recording, that can be heard very well. If I have time, I will rip the audio track and upload it.

Brian

Quote from: M forever on June 05, 2008, 10:18:18 AM
No. Why would he? I am obviously not a genius. I just play the bass very well. But I can't hear "multi-dimensional vibrational fields" like a real genius can. ;)
My father is a noise-and-vibration engineer. Perhaps I should ask him about these fields...  ;)

Quote from: M forever on June 05, 2008, 10:18:18 AMAt first he said that the opening (which is pretty much for solo cello and bass section alone) should only be moderately loud (I think it said mf), but then he said, you guys sound so good, you can play much louder if you want  :D
Hey, that's awesome!  :D

Henk

#22
Quote from: James on June 05, 2008, 08:42:39 AM
Same here. I can't stomach the repetitive nature of it myself, it's like he's beating the listener over the head with the same thing over and over again, trying to force it into your memory banks and make you remember it via that repetition. I find it quite boring with a low listening mileage.

Did you try S. 3 and 4?

Quote from: kristopaivinen on June 05, 2008, 06:47:19 AM

I would like to ask admirers of Glass music:
Would you call Glass a genius?

I would reckon Glass probably as the greatest living composer. Glass's music is accessible for a large audiance, and I think that counts for him. It's rich music, has an alienlike sound, it's music of this time and not conventional music. And the most important, I feel Glass his work is really about something.

Henk

Brian

Quote from: Henk on June 05, 2008, 02:24:33 PM
I would reckon Glass probably as the greatest living composer.

Henk
Not John "Star Wars" Williams?  :P

gomro

Quote from: kristopaivinen on June 05, 2008, 06:47:19 AM
I've never got past the perceived monotonousness of Glass' music. I find it to be the most predictable music in the world, and I don't see how that's a good thing.

I would like to ask admirers of Glass music:
Would you call Glass a genius?

Oh, he's a genius, all right.  And -- like another genius, a guy called Mozart -- he's way too prolific, so all his stuff starts sounding the same. But at his best, again like Mozart, Glass is transcendent.

Henk

Quote from: James on June 05, 2008, 07:18:46 PM
If I was abducted by aliens and they played stuff that sounded like Philip Glass I'd demand a refund.
It's soooo unstrange, unmagical ... earthbound.

I really like it, you just don't like minimalism maybe? But who are favourite still living composers then, James?

Henk

71 dB

Quote from: Henk on June 05, 2008, 02:24:33 PM
I would reckon Glass probably as the greatest living composer.

I wouldn't say that but he is the man in the field of minimalism.  ;)
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karlhenning

Quote from: 71 dB on June 06, 2008, 03:50:51 AM
I wouldn't say that but he is the man in the field of minimalism.  ;)

Oh, I don't know;  Adams and Reich have done work to rival Glass's.

Henk

Quote from: 71 dB on June 06, 2008, 03:50:51 AM
I wouldn't say that but he is the man in the field of minimalism.  ;)

Ok, agree.

greg

Quote from: karlhenning on June 06, 2008, 03:56:36 AM
Oh, I don't know;  Adams and Reich have done work to rival Glass's.
0:)

Brian

Might I recommend Uncyclopedia's article on Philip Glass? It's written in what they perceive to be the style of his music.

Novi

Has anyone seen or know much about Glass's opera, Waiting for the Barbarians?

I notice that it's getting its UK premiere at the Barbican this week. I have to admit that I'm not familiar at all with Glass's work, but am interested primarily because I really like the Coetzee novel on which the opera is based.

Some details:
http://www.philipglass.com/html/compositions/waiting-for-the-barbarians.html
Durch alle Töne tönet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Für den der heimlich lauschet.

greg

Quote from: Brian on June 06, 2008, 02:50:58 PM
Might I recommend Uncyclopedia's article on Philip Glass? It's written in what they perceive to be the style of his music.

I just saw this part of the article:

QuoteTwo lovers sat on a on a on a park bench, their parts bench bench bench touching each other, holding genitals in the moonlight in the moonlight in the moonlight.
LOL!

DavidRoss

Quote from: 71 dB on June 03, 2008, 11:28:12 AM
Glass' Violin Concerto is very good, I like it a lot (Takuo Yuasa/Naxos).

Will wonders never cease?  I'm not sure you've ever said anything I agreed with before now.  The VC is my favorite Glass work.  I wish there were a more satisfying performance on record.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

M forever

Have you heard Kremer/WP/Dohnányi (on DG)?

DavidRoss

Not yet. This is the recording Sarge has.  Have you?
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

M forever

I have it, in the original edition coupled with the Schnittke Concerto Grosso No.5. It is outstanding in every respect. Kremer really "plays" the solo part and inflects it with lots of nuances which illuminate the music's inner life which interesting because in this piece, nothing really "happens". The music is basically static, it doesn't develop, but it "lives" and that recording brings that out very well. The playing of the orchestra is both very accented and rhythmically alert and (not surprisingly) full bodied and rich. My only (slight) criticism would be that the recording of the orchestra could be maybe a shade or two clearer. On the other hand what comes across very well is the timpani and percussion, their playing really brings out the rhythmical undercurrent of the music (in that context, I remember that that Hurwitz idiot always writes that they can't play percussion properly in Vienna because they play some instruments while sitting down, and he as a former hobby percussionist knows that that can not be done). Also, when the complex "noodling" structures of Glass' music are played really together and in tune by the entire string section (it often isn't because a lot of the time, part of the string section just somehow messes through them), the resultant sound is huge and that is obviously the case here, so when I say they could maybe have captured the orchestra a little better, I may be wrong. In any case, the sound of the orchestra in this music is pretty overwhelming and Kremer's exquisite playing floats on top of that, so what more could one ask for?

Sergeant Rock

David, I agree with M. I'm very satisfied with this performance. The only reason I mentioned the Naxos (which I haven't heard) is to suggest an alternative recording for those on a budget (I think even anti-minimalists should hear this concerto: it's quite haunting). But the DG recording has Dohnányi, Vienna, and Kremer...what's not to like?

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

wppwah

#38
For those of you who liked Glass' violin concerto (which apparently seems to be all that some people like of him), Glass has written a second one recently, subtitled The American Four Seasons. You can hear it for the next few days at the PT website under HOUR 2 [Listen], at around 19 minutes into the program. It's just what you'd expect out of Glass... still worth a listen if you're into that kind of thing, I guess. Has some pretty obvious Vivaldi influences.

EDIT: Thanks DavidRoss, link is fixed now. :)

DavidRoss

Quote from: wppwah on August 20, 2010, 09:18:10 PM
For those of you who liked Glass' violin concerto (which apparently seems to be all that some people like of him), Glass has written a second one recently, subtitled The American Four Seasons. You can hear it for the next few days at the PT website under HOUR 2 [Listen], at around 19 minutes into the program. It's just what you'd expect out of Glass... still worth a listen if you're into that kind of thing, I guess. Has some pretty obvious Vivaldi influences.
The link didn't work but I presumed, correctly, that it's the Performance Today website.  It was written for Robert McDuffie (who has also recorded Glass's first VC).  Go to the website, turn the archives selector back to Aug 20, and bingo!

By the way, a couple of years ago, following Mike and Sarge's recommendation, I picked up the Kremer and it's as described. 
Listening now to Glass's seasons via PT streamer and so far, barely into the first movement, I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher