Glass Notes

Collegiate Chorale/Signed CD giveaway

In addition to next week's performance of Symphony No.7 "Toltec" in its NY Premiere, the Collegiate Chorale is giving away a number of signed Toltec CDs through its Twitter feed.

Philip Glass: Art Belongs to All of Us

Tibet House Benefit - Carnegie Hall, Thursday

Etudes Program Notes

Thanks to Stephen Dosen for sending these in:

"Etudes for Piano is a set of twenty etudes composed between the years of
1992 and 2012. The first ten were composed with the idea of providing
performable music that would also improve my piano playing, and I feel
that I have succeeded fairly well in that regard. The second set, Etudes
#11-20 were composed with a different idea in mind. By then, I had
acquired the performing technique that I needed, and I was looking at
Etudes #11-20 as part of the general array of musical expression that
had become available to me through my years of composing. Finally,
I anticipated that the sequence of Etudes #1-20 when played in their
entirety would provide a musical shape of its own.
 
It was important that the personalities of my guest performers as
interpreters could be reflected in a specific set of pieces drawn from the
overall work. Therefore, I provided them each an integrated set of pieces
which could be played as a work complete in itself. For that reason, the
order of this evening’s concert has been rearranged.
 
The music will be performed in the following way. The concert will
begin with my playing Etudes #1, 2 and 4. This will be followed by Sally
Whitwell’s performances of #9, 14, 7, 15, 16, 19 and 11. At this point there
will be a short intermission. After the intermission, I will perform Etudes
#8, 17 and 10. This will be followed by Maki Namekawa’s performances
of Etudes #3, 5, 6, 18, 12, 13 and 20.
 
There were a number of special events and commissions that brought
about the actual composition of the pieces. Etudes #1–5 were composed
for Dennis Russell Davies on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 1994.
Etude #6 was commissioned by the Sydney Festival in 1996. Etudes
#11 and 12 were commissioned by Bruce Levingston in 2007 and
premiered at Avery Fisher Hall. Etude #17 was commissioned for the
25th Anniversary of the Menil Collection in Houston, TX and premiered
on 2 December 2012. Etudes #18, 19 and 20 and were commissioned by
the Perth International Arts Festival in 2012 and will be performed for the
first time this evening."
 
- Philip Glass
11 February 2013
 
Philip Glass
Etudes for Piano
 
Philip Glass
Etudes #1,2, 4
 
Sally Whitwell
Etudes #9, 14, 7, 15, 16, 19, 11
 
Interval (20 minutes)
 
Philip Glass
Etudes #8, 17, 10
 
Maki Namekawa
Etudes #3, 5, 6, 18, 12, 13, 20

Hear Glass' Stoker

For Piano Four Hands...

Twitter - Monday Feb.11, 2013

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James and composer Philip Glass will hold a special Twitter conversation on Monday, February 11 at 1pm EST. The two artists will be discussing the upcoming 23rd Annual Tibet House Benefit Concert, which will be taking place at Carnegie Hall on February 21. Fans will need to follow Philip Glass, who will be tweeting from (at)soundcheck , and Jim James, who will be tweeting from (at)jimjames.

As previously reported, James, Glass, Patti Smith, tUnE-yArDs, Ariel Pink, Rhzel and many more will be performing at the 23rd Annual Tibet House Benefit.

Classical Glass

iTunes has launched its worldwide "iTunes Essential Classical" (Must Own Classical Music) which includes a volume dedicated to the music of Philip Glass.  It's currently climbing up iTunes Classical's chart. 

The Perfect American Live Stream - Wednesday

On Medici TV: Streaming live on line. 16 hours 40 mintues from the time of this typing.

 

Tomorrow Night! Violin Concerto No.2 with Robert McDuffie and the MCS Ensemble

Tomorrow night at 7:30pm at Le Poisson Rouge ($15) in New York City, violnist Robert McDuffie leads his MCS Ensemble in the first New York performance of Philip Glass' Violin Concerto No.2 "The American Four Seasons" since his sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in 2010.

This also marks the NY debut of the 26 member ensemble of the McDuffie Center for Strings.  McDuffie premiered the Glass concerto in 2009 in Toronto and has gone on to perform the work over 80 times the world around and produced a very successful recording of the work on OMM.  This concert marks the farewell to his exclusivity on the piece as soon other violinists will take on the work.

For those who have never been to Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), it's a virbant and relevant place to hear music. This is the venue of Philip Glass' 75th Birthday party, and I've heard Glass works performed there including Glassworks, Symphony No.3, The Hours, Dracula, and many more.  "Serving Art & Alcohol" it's quite a different scene from your stuffy uptown concert hall. The artistic directors there present everything from Monteverdi operas to the NY premiere of Arvo Part's Fourth Symphony.  It's a new paradigm - and nowadays it's THE place to play in New York.

Also on the program: Glass' Sextet for Strings and Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins.

I'll be there and I hope to see some of you there as well.

 

 

No.76

Happy 76th birthday to Philip Glass!