glass notes
Happy October Everyone

Manhattan Bridge
I realized I haven't uttered a word since the announcement of The Perfect American. Please note that the WNYC interview with Philip Glass on Monday's show Soundcheck is available for download as a free podcast on iTunes.
For those inclined to download the music of the Glass Box (who knows, there may be some?), should know that I saw it available yesterday for download at Amazon's MP3 store.
Otherwise the cool air has set in across New York City. And my favorite season is now upon us.  This may be for a lot of reasons but not the least of which is that orchestras have begun their seasons and so have opera companies.  Philip Glass performs tonight in Ohio before heading off to the other side of the world with performances of Book of Longing in Australia.
I noticed a bunch of new entries to the philipglass.com/calendar which are worth mentioning: October is celebrated properly this year in Tromso Norway with the piano and sring orchestra arrangement of Glass' score to Dracula on October 31. 
There's a lot of Glass music happening in Scandinavia including Malmo Sweden's performance of Company, Facades in Norway, and Symphony No.3 in Stockholm.  Apparently they like string orchestras up there.
Otherwise, here's a shout out to Darragh Morgan of the Smith Quartet who is performing all over his native Ireland including solo violin music from Einstein.  The Smith Quartet, having recently performed and recorded quartets 1-5 in England, have taken to playing them all across the world.
Long-time Glass champions should not go neglected including the Rascher Saxophone Quartet who continue to play the Saxophone Quartet Concerto EVERYWHERE.  And last but not least, Dennis Russell Davies will perform the Glass Violin Concerto twice in the month of November in Cologne and Bratislava with violinist Renaud Capucon and the Bruckner Orchester Linz.  Still a curiousity that Davies has never recorded this great work.  I had the chance to be reminded how wonderful it is when my bike chain broke when crossing the Manhattan Bridge this morning and I had to hoof it to work.  The extended commute invited serious listening as I crossed the East River and took in the view of the skyline.

3 thoughts on “Happy October Everyone”

  2. Have a great time, Proman.
    Phil’s Solo Concerts are like going to heaven. (I can’t go–I am needed to watch doggies & kitties so friends can go door knocking in another state–right now it’s a higher calling).
    Bring us back your impressions.
    Fran

  3. Thank you Richard and Fran.
    It was a truly great experience. There is something so special about hearing these works (many of which I know by heart) performed in such an intimate setting. By the author.
    It was very interesting to hear how much softer those pieces sounded live as opposed to on the record. I mean it in the good – the were really carressing to the ear lending an additional level to the enjoyment. I’ve almost forgotten how great it is to go to the live theater.
    I was also very impressed that Philip didn’t use notes and performed everything entirely from memory (and the concert was a little over 90 minutes).
    I also really loved Mr. Glass taking a bow after each piece – he certainly knows class.
    I gotta say that if you have a chance to see Mr. Glass perform live – definitely take it! It will something that you’ll surely enjoy very much.

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