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Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

theguardian.com

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Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#11

Post by magicalhippo »

motohagiography wrote: post #6

These days I would pick a movie to see based on who did or contributed to its soundtrack. Glass, Zimmer, Richter, and Preisnser, in particular. Some of Glass' work transposes well to other instruments, but a real extra gift to the world would be if he wrote a guitar suite. I've been hacking around with a classical guitar arrangement of Pärt's "Spiegel im Spiegel," and might see if Glass' new "The Teacher" is more ame…

> Some of Glass' work transposes well to other instruments

Here's one example which works very well IMHO.

Lavinia Meijer, Harp, Metamorphosis Four

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ivXNzf5a8I

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#12

Post by motohagiography »

naringas wrote: post #7
motohagiography wrote: post #6

These days I would pick a movie to see based on who did or contributed to its soundtrack. Glass, Zimmer, Richter, and Preisnser, in particular. Some of Glass' work transposes well to other instruments, but a real extra gift to the world would be if he wrote a guitar suite. I've been hacking around with a classical guitar arrangement of Pärt's "Spiegel im Spiegel," and might see if Glass' new "The Teacher" is more ame…

just in case you've been missing this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFc40M1g8kA they have recorded 4 of his quartets arranged for guitar

Huge fan of these, and they were part of what inspired me to take up guitar again. Highly recommend. There is a fellow who does "Metamorphosis" as well, and it was one of the first pieces I learned.

edit: Thomas Csaba performing the complete Metamorphosis : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMyQM589Kbs

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#13

Post by ranko »

emptyfile wrote: post #2

>Yes, after Einstein on the Beach I went back to driving a New York cab. I didn’t mind that. It was interesting work. I didn’t have an agent. I ran all the business side of it and the box office myself. I enjoyed it. Interesting, I had no idea.

There are a couple of great anecdotes about Glass working at other jobs while starting out as a composer, one involving the art critic of Time magazine and another about driving a taxi.

https://interlude.hk/philip-glass-composer-taxi-driver/

'Glass understood that he had finally arrived as a composer when a woman tapped on the side of his cab and told him “you have the same name as a very famous composer.”

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#14

Post by AndrewUnmuted »

No, Philip Glass's problem is that he believes he writes symphonies. He's the Donald Trump of the classical music world - trying desperately to be considered one of the "big ones," while piling on incessantly with new "works" that rehash the same tired minimalist tropes, which have all been explored by far more competent composers such as Berio, Feldman, Riley, and Reich.

I am not surprised to read these glowing reviews of the man on HN, though, as Glass always does get the royal treatment outside of the music world. He makes the kind of soulless dreck that would be suitable for writing code without getting distracted by any chance of meaning or beauty.

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#15

Post by brianzelip »

emptyfile wrote: post #2

>Yes, after Einstein on the Beach I went back to driving a New York cab. I didn’t mind that. It was interesting work. I didn’t have an agent. I ran all the business side of it and the box office myself. I enjoyed it. Interesting, I had no idea.

He recounts being nearly mugged while driving a taxi, and other stories, in this Fresh Air episode with Terry Gross,https://freshairarchive.org/segments/philip-glass-legacy-fut...

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#16

Post by kerblang »

If you want to see a hilariously awful documentary, watch "Glass: A Portrait of Philip In Twelve Parts". It's hard to say whether the director really intended to create a more subtle and wry Spinal Tap, or it just came out that way. (Not knocking Mr. Glass - you're welcome to enjoy his music as much as any other and I like some of it too)

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#18

Post by mgr86 »

emptyfile wrote: post #2

>Yes, after Einstein on the Beach I went back to driving a New York cab. I didn’t mind that. It was interesting work. I didn’t have an agent. I ran all the business side of it and the box office myself. I enjoyed it. Interesting, I had no idea.

I first herd Einstein on the Beach after a particularly manic period in undergrad. My advisor wasn't familiar with it, and I may have spooked her a bit try to explain it. I think to this day its great background music for programming work, but to me more because it can illicit that sense of young focus and drive that I find increasingly fleeting. Perhaps not unlike how music can "wake up" dementia patients. It elicits a deep base response.

Anyhow, I didn't know that either about his life. Very fascinating.

As an aside I believe I discovered Einstein on the Beach after listening to Hydrogen Jukebox. I wonder how others come about listening to it for the first time. Especially those in their 30s like myself who were born a decade after its success.

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#19

Post by tmountain »

I saw Glass at a performing arts center in my hometown. The PAC has a lot of season ticket holders, and Glass' music triggered an older attendee to march to the front of the auditorium and yell, "this isn't music". He was quickly ushered out by his wife, but Glass was noticeably smirking, and the whole thing really added to the avant garde vibe of the performance. Amazing concert BTW. One of my favorite artists.

Re: Philip Glass: My problem is people don’t believe I write symphonies (2017)

#20

Post by rolfea »

AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #14

No, Philip Glass's problem is that he believes he writes symphonies. He's the Donald Trump of the classical music world - trying desperately to be considered one of the "big ones," while piling on incessantly with new "works" that rehash the same tired minimalist tropes, which have all been explored by far more competent composers such as Berio, Feldman, Riley, and Reich. I am not surprised to read these glowing revi…

I'm very interested in what minimalist tropes you would say Berio and Feldman explored in any of their work.
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