Orange Mountain Music OMM0074

DISC 1
Suite from “Bent” for String Quartet
I. 2’24
II. 2’32
III. 2’16
IV. 2’53
V. 3’36
VI. 2’52
VII. 5’15
VIII. 1’56

String Quartet No. 3, (‘Mishima’)
I. 1957: Award Montage 4’05
II. November 25 – Ichigaya 1’08
III. Grandmother and Kimitake 4’07
IV. 1962: Body Building 1’21
V. Blood Oath 2’35
VI. Mishima / Closing 3’28

String Quartet No. 1
Part 1. 8’40
Part 2. 6’48

DISC 2
String Quartet No. 4
I. 7’42
II. 7’09
III. 8’45

String Quartet No. 2 (‘ Company ‘)
I. 2’49
II. 1’33
III. 1’55
IV. 2’06

String Quartet No. 5
I. 1’11
II. 3’07
III. 6’31
IV. 4’55
V. 6’30

“From the very first notes of our rehearsal process, we felt an affinity to the inimitable musical language of Philip Glass. The glowing sonorities of these quartets coaxed us towards a truly collective spirit as an ensemble. Not only did the music require us to be completely emotionally invested, but it also seemed to demand that we proceed with a heightened sensitivity to transparency, blend, and tone color — as if the notation served as a kind of Rosetta Stone and it was our job to decode. Beyond the fundamental approach to the score, Glass’ synergistic combination of interlocking patterns and elemental harmonies inevitably caused us to draw connections to our own sphere: whether it be the gossamer-like inner voices of Schubert, the urban landscape of New York, or the drone infused textures of Persian music. All of this and more made this project feel deeply rooted within our collective experience.

“Brooklyn Rider has always been heavily invested in reaching across audience genres. Philip Glass is an absolute exemplar of this type of musician. His uncanny ability to be simultaneously a composer of our time and curiously ‘unstuck’ from time undoubtably fosters a shared appreciation amongst fans of classical, rock, electronic, experimental, jazz, world music, etc. These quartets represent some of his most dynamic compositions, and we hope that our interpretations will speak as freshly to those already familiar with the music as they will to first time listeners.”
— Brooklyn Rider

The New York based string quartet Brooklyn Rider performs the complete Philip Glass string quartets including the early String Quartet No.1 (1966) and a world premiere recording of Glass’s score to the 1997 film BENT starring Mick Jagger, Clive Owen, and Ian McKellen on this new 2-disc set titled Brooklyn Rider plays Philip Glass.

Glass’s string quartets include his score to the Samuel Beckett play Company (String Quartet No.2), the Paul Schrader film on the life of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (String Quartet No.3 “Mishima”) and an elegiac remembrance of artist Paul Buczak in String Quartet No.4 “Buczak.”

The fast-rising Brooklyn Rider is violinists Johnny Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords, and cellist Eric Jacobsen. The group tours extensively in the USA and abroad.

BROOKLYN RIDER
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Johnny Gandelsman, violin
Nicholas Cords, viola
Eric Jacobsen, cello

Thanks yous: Ken Sackheim, Dalton Helms, Wende Persons, Mary Pat Buerkle, Samuel Zygmuntowicz, Trevor Gureckis, Amber Star, Jenni Quilter

Studio engineers: Jody Elff (Quartets 2, 4, 5) , Ichiho Nishiki (Quartet 1 and Suite from ‘Bent’), Shahzad Ismaily (Quartet 3)

Assistant engineers: Fernando Lodeiro (Quartets 2, 3, 4, 5), Lawrence Chandler (Quartet 1 and Suite from ‘Bent’)

Edited and mixed by Shahzad Ismaily

Produced by Shahzad Ismaily and Johnny Gandelsman

Recorded at Avatar Recording Studios (Quartets 2, 3, 4, 5) and Looking Glass Studios (Quartet 1 and Suite from ‘Bent’)

Mixed at Rivington Studios

Mastered by Mell Dettmer

Brooklyn Rider text by Nicholas Cords

Photography: Dalton Helms

Special Projects Producer (OMM): Richard Guérin

Executive producers for Orange Mountain Music: Philip Glass, Kurt Munkacsi and Don Christensen

Amazon
iTunes/Apple Music
Spotify

Compositions:
String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 2
String Quartet No. 3
String Quartet No. 4
String Quartet No. 5
Bent

Recordings:
Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass