Search - Philip Glass, Gerard Schwarz, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra :: Philip Glass: The Concerto Project, Vol. 1

Glass isn't getting any better

MartinP | Nijmegen, The Netherlands | 10/30/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Every once in a while I fall prey to a resurgence of my former Glass-addiction and am tempted to buy a new work by this prototypical minimalist. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. His Third Symphony for instance I found extremely striking and a thoroughly worthwhile addition to my collection. More often however I find that a new work is a mere rehashing of the familiar Glass-cliché's and really has nothing remotely interesting to say. That, I fear, is the case with the cello concerto. In his accompanying note, instigator and soloist Steven Isserlis recycles the meanwhile also familiar apologetic observation that the repeating patterns may seem the same, but they aren't; still, the point is that they sound the same; and so do the rhythmic and harmonic shifts, the stale syncopations, that all neatly fit the usual Glass mould. If you like Glass in his autumnal, superficially tragic mood, you may like this. No doubt makers of documentaries about Alzheimer, or depression among city dwellers, will in time gratefully exploit the piece for their soundtracks. I for one was just plain bored. The slow movement takes all of 14 minutes (the 4 minutes mentioned in the booklet are, unfortunately, a misprint), constituting a memorable feat of musical inflation. The solo part blends indistinctively into the whole and adds little special character. The beginning of the piece is so murky and opaque that it made me wonder whether this was failing recording technique, or indeed just bad orchestration.

The balance tipped towards the second conclusion listening to the Timpani Concerto. What a shapeless racket! It didn't make any sense to me at all, most of it hardly rising above the level of mere noise. Some interesting sound effects in the cadenza are ear-catching, but not nearly enough to carry off this work. The (obviously) percussive nature of the timpani solos isn't contrasted with any legato (let alone melodic) lines in the orchestra; rather, the orchestral accompaniment (if you can call it that) is staccato almost throughout, so that the piece gives the impression of some loud, useless machine just hammering away. Maybe Glass should have listened a bit more closely to Bartok, Nielsen (4th) or even Tubin (5th) to learn that bluntly battering away is not the only option when writing for timpani. Some piano writing would also have been nice... As it is, I would advise you not to waste your money on this. If you want to hear the cello to best advantage in Glass music, better try the Conjuncto Iberico disc.

"

This is my story why I bought and fell in love with this alb

Shota Hanai | Torrance, CA | 12/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I still remember the incredible sensation I felt one night listening to Philip Glass' "Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra" for the first time on my car radio.



It happend about a year ago. After dining at Hooters in Santa Monica with some of my drumline friends, I hopped back into my car, turned on the engine, and all the sudden, the sound of timpani filled the car! I mean LOTS and LOTS of it! Listening to the orchestral accompaniment, I knew it was a concerto piece... a very modern concerto piece. The music was simply mesmerizing, with the orchestra playing rather refreshingly consonant chords, while the drums were struck all over the place, at times arpeggiating, and at times singing the melody. It either had to be a soloist playing so many drums, or even two playing them.



I simply had to know what this strange new piece was, so I listened throughout my whole drive on the dark highways and freeways back home. Lasting pretty long, I knew I must have listened from the first movement. As the music progressed, there was a slower movement, the followed by a huge cadenza featuring the timpani, before another fast movement. By the time I reached home, the music came to an exhilirating close, and listened like an eager student... "Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra by Philip Glass ("Philip Glass? Really?", the soloists being Jonathan Haas and Evelyn Glennie ("Evelyn Glennie? I know her!"), with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Gerald Schwartz."



I never hesistated by buy the album featuring this work. It only took days for me to find the right album with the right performers (well, this IS the only performance so far, being a premiere recording).



As a percussionist (with timpani being my favorite instrument), I bought this album just for the Timpani piece... obviously. Based on the booklet, the soloists Jonathan Haas (dubbed the "Paganini of Timpani") and Evelyn Glennie (probably THE best percussionist in the world), played on seven drums each, so that's FOURTEEN total! The work did prove a challenge to the performers, but the recording came out very well.



If you love timpani, then you'll absolutely love this work. Guaranteed! I truly cherish the work, and I am hoping to play it in the future to show my obsession with my favorite percussion instrument."

Two fantastic concertos

Russ | Richmond, VA | 08/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike certain individuals within the more "sophisticated" crowd, I am not afraid to admit that I like the minimalist music of Philip Glass (b. 1937). Glass' style is very distinct, making use of recurring arpeggios, recurring syncopated patterns and recurring melodic ideas. I used to the word "recurring" three times in the previous sentence to emphasize that repetition is an important element of Glass' music. This would spell trouble for most composers, but Glass pulls this off by continually driving the music forward to achieve greater intensity and incorporating fascinating harmonic shifts that give his music an almost hypnotic quality.



Some have faulted Glass for continuing his reliance on the techniques mentioned above (for decades!). So first off, anyone looking for a radical new direction in Glass' music will be disappointed with this release. While others, such as myself, who enjoy Glass' unique style, will surely love this CD. Rest assured, arpeggios abound, and syncopated motifs propel the music forward.



Of the two concertos, the Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists (premiered in 2000) is probably the one that will compel people to purchase this album. A concerto for a percussion instrument is a bit of an oddity. And this concerto, scored for nine timpani played by two timpanists, is pretty much what you would expect. It is intense, it is propulsive and it is aggressive. Glass doesn't seem too keen on exploring the subtleties of the timpani here. The music begins at a good clip with pounding timpani at forte, banging out the movement's theme in 5/4 time. Although, the themes employed by Glass vary in their intensity, the timpani part itself continues its aggressive, perhaps primitive, pounding until the conclusion of the movement. Now how do you compose a slow movement for nine timpani? Not an easy feat, but Glass pulls it off the (for the most part) by composing a processional that gradually builds in intensity to a climax, which then fades away. The finale of the concerto is similar to the opening movement. Lots of aggressive, percussive playing is to be found here. The syncopated opening theme of this movement, to me, has a decidedly Nordic feel to it. In short, this concerto is fantastic and will not disappoint percussion enthusiasts or admirers of Glass' style, just as long as they don't expect this piece to be something it is not. It's a timpani concerto.



Although this CD will be purchased for the timpani concerto, I think after a couple of listenings, the more reflective cello concerto (premiered in 2001) will prove equally interesting; and possibly more so. The mood of the first two movements is somber, with the rhythmic intensity of the timpani concerto nowhere to be found. However, the music is no less fascinating, with Glass' distinctive harmonic modulations and characteristic orchestration. The themes themselves are weightier and more substantial than the ones from Glass' earlier days, but repetition is still an important element to this concerto. The slow movement is especially lovely. This movement does last 14 minutes, for some reason, but is none the worse for it, as the cello's expressive recurring theme never gets stale. Things heat up a bit more in the finale, with the previously released violin concerto coming to mind. Julian Lloyd Weber, does well navigating through the sixteenth-note-laden solo part, while the percussion section, especially the castanet player, propels the music forward with repetitive rhythmic ideas. My only quibble with this piece is the ending, which is very abrupt, as if Glass was unplugged or blew a fuse in the midst of his syncopating. However, Glass' tendency to conclude with sudden, harmonically bizarre, codas is one of his "trademarks." Like a car going down a hill with no brakes, Glass' music has no problem sustaining its forward momentum; however its halt isn't pretty.



Despite this, this disc has my full recommendation. The reflective cello concerto contrasts nicely against the assertive timpani concerto. This is fascinating music that will appeal to all (except those who take themselves too seriously) and deserves a place in the library of any acquirer of recent classical music.



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