Music by Philip Glass
Sally Whitwell, piano

ABC Classics

1. Opening 5:08
2. Metamorphosis I 6:12
3. Metamorphosis II 8:23
4. Metamorphosis III 4:42
5. Metamorphosis IV 5:52
6. Metamorphosis V 5:37
7. Mad Rush 14:16
8. The Hours – Dead Things 4:45
9. Wichita Vortex Sutra 6:54

Philip Glass is that rarest of contemporary ‘classical’ composers – a musician who has revolutionized the way art music is composed and found a massive audience in doing so. As much a pop and cult phenomenon as he is a descendant of Beethoven, Glass’ music has been used in classic films like Koyanisqaatsi and…but it’s in his music for solo piano that the essence of his art is revealed. In this groundbreaking album from Sydney pianist Sally Whitwell – the first of its kind ever to be recorded in this country – all of Glass’ finest solo piano music is represented. In an additional Australian angle, the Stuart piano is used, its crystalline tones ideally suited to Glass’ hypnotically beautiful music.

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COMPOSITIONS:
Mad Rush
Glassworks
Metamorphosis I – V
Wichita Vortex Sutra
The Hours

Music by Philip Glass
Performed by Slagwerk den Haag

Orange Mountain Music OMM0163
2022

3. Music in Similar Motion 12:24
7. Mad Rush 9:48

Originally written for organ, Mad Rush was composed for the Dalai Lama’s first public address in North America at New York’s Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in 1979. Later, it was used to accompany a ballet by Lucinda Childs. The piece took on the ballet’s title, Mad Rush. Although originally described as being of “indefinite length,” the eventual published score indicates only three repetitions of the whole piece, or a binary form with a short coda.

Glass said about Mad Rush: ‘this music was written for the evening in 1979, I think it was November, when his Holiness the Dalai Lama gave his first public address in North America. He was invited to give that here in St. John the Divine, this cathedral. I knew the people from the Tibet House and the Tibet Fund office. I’ve known them for a while and they asked me if I would play some music before he came. They weren’t sure how timely his arrival would be and they knew the place would be full with people.’

Mad Rush opens with three voices playing against each other in two-against-three rhythm, typical for several of Glass’s works. The opening statement contrasts with a faster four-bar passage of running 16th notes in both hands. In the fourth bar Glass adds two extra beats, in the same way he did in Music in Similar Motion. This element gives it the frenzied character to which the title refers.”
– Anthony Fiumara

Recorded January 13-15, 2020 in Korzo, The Hague by Emil van Steenwijk
Mixing & Mastering by Emil van Steerwijk
Artistic Supervision & Editing by Anthony Fiumara
Artwork by Darien Brito

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COMPOSITIONS:
Mad Rush
Music in Similar Motion