Philip Morris Glass (born
January 31, 1937) is an American composer. He is considered one of the
most influential music makers of the late 20th century. His music is
also often controversially described as minimal music, along with the
work of the other "major minimalists" La Monte Young, Terry Riley and
Steve Reich.Glass has distanced himself from the "minimalist" label, describing himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures". Though his early mature music shares much with what is normally called "minimalist", he has since evolved stylistically. Currently, he describes himself as a "classicist", pointing out that he is trained in harmony and counterpoint and studied such composers as Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Nadia Boulanger.
Glass is a prolific composer: he has written works for the musical group which he founded, the Philip Glass Ensemble (with which he still performs on keyboards), as well as operas, musical theatre works, ten symphonies, eleven concertos, solo works, chamber music including string quartets and instrumental sonatas, and film scores. Three of his film scores have been nominated for Academy Awards.
Nonesuch observes -- for some reason, a little late -- the 70th birthday of composer Philip Glass through the release of Glass Box, a deluxe 10-CD compilation taken from Glass' extensive catalog and ranging from 1969 to 2005. Designed as much art object as a delivery mechanism for music, all sides of the box save the bottom are emblazoned with striking iconography of Glass from various points in his life. The box is completely square save for a hinged lid, and inside the 10 CDs in digi-pak covers and 192-page booklet are held upright by a pair of cardboard spacers.
Glass does not write many short pieces, and to string together an even roughly "complete" edition of his work would be a foolhardy enterprise, given his high level of productivity and the great diversity of offerings he has given us over the years. Glass' own association with Nonesuch began in 1985 with the soundtrack for Mishima, and Nonesuch has kept Glass on the roster ever since, issuing whatever it could afford to, and many highlights have evolved from this fruitful association. Even given the history, Nonesuch has wisely kept the focus in Glass Box on Glass, as the selection -- divided roughly in half between excerpts and complete works -- isn't exclusively drawn from the catalog but also sources recordings from Glass' labels Orange Mountain Music and Chatham Square and even including a bit of Akhenaton on loan from Sony. Orange Mountain is to large extent responsible for the selection, and it is a very well-done job; each disc summarizes Glass' work in a different area and the excerpted discs are carefully sequenced to avoid the feeling of "bleeding chunks."
Glass Box is a surprising thing to see in 2008, given the state of the industry; one would wonder how such a deluxe item could be possible. However, for what it is and contains, Glass Box is really not that expensive; had it been issued on Glass' sixtieth birthday it probably would have cost $50-60 more. Philip Glass is truly fortunate to have made connections throughout his career with visual artists of such caliber as Chuck Close, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Wilson, and Annie Leibovitz; among composers, possibly only Igor Stravinsky has better portraits. You could set Glass Box on the shelf and when you get tired of seeing a given Philip Glass image, you could flip the box around for another: perhaps you could change Glass' portrait with the seasons! Seriously, though, such design is in keeping with the conceptual angle often associated with Glass' music, and does strike a strong consonance between Glass and his close relationship to visual artists. Inside the box, the same degree of quality is observed, with each individual disc boasting a different Chuck Close portrait. The booklet is quite impressive; highlights include a useful and informative essay on the internal development of Glass' style by Keith Potter, and a number of short, heart-warming, and genuinely felt appreciations by Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Robert Wilson, and others.
One concern is the booklet; it is very densely packed and the review copy sent is starting to shed some pages, so it is advised that one take care in handling the book. Glass Box is as close as one is likely to get to a greatest-hits package for Philip Glass and is better in that it does not suffer from the scrappiness of a typical "greatest hits." It is too big to serve as an introduction to his work, but as a career summary Glass Box is ideal, hits the high points, and is concise at 10 discs.
CD01 - Early Works (1969-1970)
01. Music In Contrary Motion [15:33]
Philip Glass: electric organ, alto flute.
02. Music With Changing Parts [45:39]
Barbara Benary: electric violin, voice; Steve Chambers: electric organ; Jon Gibson: electric organ, soprano saxophone, flute, voice; Dickie Landry: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, voice; Kurt Munkacsi: engineer, electronics; Arthur Murphy: electric piano; Robert Prado: trumpet, flute, voice.
03. Music In Similar Motion [17:12]
Steve Chambers, Art Murphy: electric organs; Jon Gibson, Dickie Landry: soprano saxophones; Robert Prado: flute; Kurt Munkacsi: engineer, electronics.
CD02 - Music in Twelve Parts (1971-1974)
01. Part VII [19:58]
02. Part VIII [18:18]
03. Part IX [12:14]
04. Part X [17:11]
The Philip Glass Ensemble, Michael Riesman, musical director, keyboards; Lisa Bielawa, voice; Jon Gibson, Andrew Sterman, soprano saxophone, flute; Philip Glass, keyboards; Martin Goldray, keyboards; Richard Peck, alto and tenor saxophones.
CD03 - Einstein On The Beach (1976)
01. Knee Play 1 [8:05]
02. Train 1 [13:45]
03. Knee Play 2 [6:09]
04. Knee Play 3 [6:30]
05. Trial 2/Prison: “Prematurely Air-Conditioned Supermarket” [12:20]
06. Knee Play 4 [7:07]
07. Bed/Prelude [4:23]
08. Spaceship [12:51]
09. Knee Play 5 [8:05]
The Philip Glass Ensemble, Michael Riesman: musical director;Marion Beckenstein, Katie Geissinger: chorus, solo voice; Lucinda Childs, Sheryl Sutton, Jasper McGruder: spoken text.
CD04 - Glassworks / Analog
01. Opening [6:12]
02. Facades [7:18]
Michael Riesman: piano, synthesizer; Jack Kripl: saxophone.
03. Floe [8:44]
Miles Green: keyboards.
04. Closing [5:17]
Michael Riesman, piano soloist, conductor; Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
05. Etoile Polaire [2:39]
06. River Run [1:54]
07. Are Years What? (For Marianne Moore) [4:03]
08. Ange Des Oranges [3:48]
09. Ave [4:46]
10. Montage [2:29]
Philip Glass: Farfisa, Yamaha and Hammond organs, Fender Rhodes piano, arp, synthesizer;
Dickie Landry: soprano and tenor saxophones, flute; Joan La Barbara, Gene Rickard: voices.
11. Dressed Like An Egg: Part IV [3:13]
12. Dressed Like An Egg: Part V [1:35]
13. Mad Rush For Organ [16:14]
Philip Glass: Farfisa, Yamaha and Hammond organs, Fender Rhodes piano, arp, synthesizer;
Iris Hisky: vocals.
CD05 - From Satyagraha (1980)
01. Act I (Tolstoy), Scene 1: The Kuru Field Of Justice [18:46]
02. Act I (Tolstoy), Scene 2: Tolstoy Farm (1910) [11:03]
03. Act II (Tagore), Scene 1: Confrontation And Rescue (1896) [14:45]
04. Act II (Tagore), Scene 3: Protest (1908) [15:16]
05. Act III (King), Scene 1: Newcastle March (1913) -Part 3: Evening Song [8:23]
The New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Keene; Douglas Perry: tenor; Claudia Cummings: soprano; Rhonda Liss: alto; Robert McFarland: baritone; Scott Reeve: bass; Sheryl Woods: soprano; Rhonda Liss: alto; Scott Reeve: bass; Robert McFarland: baritone.
CD06 - From Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi
Koyaanisqatsi:
01.Koyaanisqatsi [3:26]
02. Organic [7:47]
03. Cloudscape [4:32]
04. Resource [6:39]
05. Vessels [8:02]
06. The Grid [21:20]
Conducted by Michael Riesman; Albert de Ruiter: bass vocal; The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble; Members of The Philip Glass Ensemble.
Powaqqatsi:
07. Serra Pelada [5:04]
08. Train To Sao Paolo [3:06]
09. Video Dream [2:15]
10. New Cities In Ancient Lands: China [2:48]
11. New Cities In Ancient Lands: Africa [2:56]
12. New Cities In Ancient Lands: India [4:42]
13. Mr. Suso #2 With Reflection [1:15]
14. Powaqqatsi [4:36]
Foday Musa Suso: kora, balafon, dousongoni, nyanyer, kari nyan; Shaikh Fathy Mady: vocal solo; Al DeRuiter: bass voice; Joe Passaro, Sue Evans, Roger Squitero, Valerie Naranjo: percussion; Hispanic Young People’s Chorus, Angélica Rosa Sepúlveda, musical director.
CD07 - String Quartets and Piano Etudes (1984-1994)
String Quartet No. 2 ('Company'):
01. Movement I [2:11]
02. Movement II [1:36]
03. Movement III [1:33]
04. Movement IV [2:07]
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.
05. Etude For Piano No. 2 [4:53]
06. Etude For Piano No. 9 [3:36]
Philip Glass: piano.
String Quartet No. 5:
07. Movement I [1:11]
08. Movement II [2:59]
09. Movement III [5:28]
10. Movement IV [4:38]
11. Movement V [7:41]
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.
12. Etude For Piano No. 5 [5:45]
13. Etude For Piano No. 3 [4:57]
Philip Glass: piano.
String Quartet No. 4 ('Buczak'):
14. Movement I [7:57]
15. Movement II [6:21]
16. Movement III [8:42]
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.
CD08 - From The Civil Wars, Hydrogen Jukebox, Symphony No. 5, and Akhnaten
The Civil Wars:
01. Act V, The Rome Section: Prologue [18:51]
American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies: conductor; Denyce Graves: mezzo-soprano; Sondra Radvanovsky: soprano; Zheng Zhou: baritone.
Hydrogen Jukebox:
02. Song #3 From Iron Horse [2:54]
03. Song #2 Jahweh And Allah Battle [3:39]
04. Song #11 The Green Automobile [6:04]
05. Song #9 From Nagasaki Days (Numbers In Red Notebook) [0:40]
06. Song #10 Aunt Rose [4:58]
07. Song #6 From Wichta Vortex Sutra [7:48]
Martin Goldray: keyboards; Carol Wincenc: flute; Andrew Sterman: soprano sax, bass clarinet; Frank Cassara, James Pugliese: percussion; Elizabeth Futral: soprano; Michele Eaton: soprano; Mary Ann Hart: mezzo-soprano; Richard Fracker: tenor; Gregory Purnhagen, Nathiel Watson: baritone; Allen Ginsberg: narrator; Philip Glass: piano.
Symphony No. 5 ('Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya'):
08. Suffering [5:03]
Akhnaten:
09. Act I, Scene 1: Funeral Of Amenhotep III [9:02]
10. Act I, Scene 3: The Window Of Appearances [4:24]
11. Act II, Scene 4: Epilogue [10:37]
Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies; Assistant Conductor: Anton Zapf; Chorus Master: Ulrich Eistert.
CD09 - Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8
Symphony No. 3:
01. Movement I [4:37]
02. Movement II [6:15]
03. Movement III [10:07]
04. Movement IV [3:29]
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
Symphony No. 8:
05. Movement I [19:27]
06. Movement II [12:18]
07. Movement III [6:57]
Bruckner Orchester Linz, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
CD10 - Filmworks
Mishima:
01. Opening [2:46]
02. November 25: Morning [4:12]
03. Closing [3:00]
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.
The Secret Agent:
04. The First Meridian [3:20]
05. Secret Agent [4:52]
The English Chamber Orchestra (Harry Rabinowitz, conductor) with additional soloists.
Kundun:
06. Sand Mandala [4:05]
07. Distraught [2:59]
08. Lhasa At Night [1:59]
09. Escape To India [10:08]
Dhondup Namgyal Khorko, Tibetan horns and cymbals; Gyuto Monks; Monks of the Drukpa Order; musicians.
Anima Mundi:
10. Living Waters [3:52]
11. The Witness [4:14]
Jeannie Gagné, Dora Ohrenstein: sopranos; Patricia Dunham, Linda November: altos; David Düsing, David Frye: tenors; Alexander Blachly, Bruce Rogers: baritones; musicians.
La Belle Et La Bete:
12. Overture [3:33]
The Philip Glass Ensemble, Michael Riesman: conductor, musical director, keyboards.
The Thin Blue Line:
13. Houston Skyline [4:47]
Michael Riesman: conductor, keyboards; musicians.
Dracula:
14. Dracula [1:11]
15. The Storm [1:32]
16. Dr. Van Helsing and Dracula [2:27]
Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.
The Fog of War:
17. The War to End All Wars [1:47]
Conducted by Michael Riesman.
Candyman:
18. It Was Always You, Helen [3:11]
Conducted by Michael Riesman.
The Truman Show:
19. Raising The Sail [2:16]
Conducted by Michael Riesman.
The Hours:
20. The Poet Acts [3:43]
Michael Riesman, piano; Chris Laurence, double bass; orchestra conducted by Nick Ingman; Lyric Quartet.
