Words Without Music is released This Week!
Huffington Post BookFilter
Slate Magazine "In its dissonances..Philip Glass's Memoir finds its form"
Philadelphia Inquirer "Glass Singing His Own Song"
Jewish Daily Forward "Glass Settles Some Old Scores"
NPR Fresh Air Long Interview with Philip Glass
NPR (WBUR) Shorter Interview with Philip Glass
The Independent UK "Songs in the Key of Modern Life"
The Economist Works of Glass
2 thoughts on “Words Without Music Reviews (UPDATED (again))”
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For those who haven’t seen it yet; here’s Glass at GoogleTalks recently, discussing his memoir (and other things):
https://youtu.be/uuQeJeILHcE
There are striking similiarities and differences in the professional and private life of Handel and Glass, my two favourite composers:
– They have been prolific composers, in different genres, mostly in the theater field.
– They have been successful in their time, they have been recognised as outstanding composers along their career, even though they had to work hard in a difficult environment.
– Glass was encouraged by their parents to study music, whereas Handel, in the first years, had to practice in secret.
– Both had good teachers in their formation years: Friedrich Zachow was an accomplished composer who taught Handel when he could practice music with the father permission.
– Both have had an acumen for the financial and diplomatic aspect of the music world
establishment.
– Glass has written and spoken a lot of his private life, whereas Handel in this regard has been almost in silence.
– Glass was married four times , whereas it is not known of important or stable sentimental relationship in the Handel life.
– They traveled a lot to enrich their compositional skill.
– They were quite funny and charming in the conversation.
– They have given benefit concert
– Handel was a virtuoso player at the keyboards, whereas Glass gives intensity in the
interpretation of his own music, but does not excell as a player.
– They both reused their music ideas in different context. Handel also used extensively
other music ideas, as a common practice at that time, whereas Glass has rewritten just David Bowie music.
However Glass music can be more easely associated to Bach, but in several compositions, for example in the Requiem, the penetrating arias and choruses, the powerful, rich and elegant orchestration can be associated to Handel music. Infact, in La Belle et la Bete booklet, he says: “It’s from Handel that I’ve learned more than any other composer for the voice about how to exercize the voice”