This issue reminds
me of the fairy story of The Emperor’s
New Clothes. I know that there are fans
of Glass’s music around the world, but
personally I see it as a bit of a con.
The same motif, repeated endlessly,
with slight changes being fed in as
and when the "composer" decides.
There is little or no development, no
thematic development and recapitulation
in evidence. How are we poor listeners
expected to consider these works as
symphonies?
I would like to think
that the notes will illuminate my understanding
of the music, particularly in an issue
like this. When I come across statements
like the following, how can we be expected
to treat these symphonies as works worthy
of serious attention: "The first
movement is something of a slow burn,
building in intensity, dank and a little
screechier than many of Glass’s "prettier"
works, but ending in a calculated whimper,
the second movement picks up where the
first left off ….." Sheer pretentious
rubbish – which goes some way to describe
the music.
Having got that off
my chest, I am happy to say that if
you want a disc of these two symphonies,
you will be more than happy with this
disc. The playing of the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra under their Chief
Conductor is superb, and Naxos has captured
their efforts in excellent stereo sound.
Their collaborative efforts go from
strength to strength, and Alsop must
be a considerable asset to Naxos in
developing their dominance of the UK
CD market. Nearly every one of their
issues is well received and it seems
that she can turn her hand to almost
any repertoire without any true weaknesses.
Allied to this, she leads a number of
first class ensembles, and seems to
get good, if not superlative performances
out of them all.
Naxos has included
this disc in their American Music Series
which now has a tremendous range of
repertoire available for us to enjoy
(or otherwise). When it started, I welcomed
it and I have been rarely disappointed
in the repertoire which has been released.
Even this disc, I have appreciated in
spite of my comments above for at least
it gives us the opportunity to hear
these works at a price which is almost
throwaway. This particular release must
be considered by Naxos as a premium
issue as it comes in a very smart slip-cover
over the jewel case. This slipcase uses
the colour picture from the traditional
Naxos sleeve enlarged to form a rather
smart totally blue cover.
The earlier symphony
(No. 2) is the longer of the two and
is placed second on the disc. It is
in three movements and was written for
the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It was
premiered by the staunch Glass advocate
Dennis Russell Davies conducting the
Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. The
work is polytonal – i.e. displaying
more than one key at once, which makes
the work ambiguous.
The Third Symphony
is on a smaller scale than its companion,
but is just as pretentiously described,
this time by the composer himself –
"The opening movement, a quiet,
moderately paced piece, functions as
a prelude to movements two and three,
which are the main body of the symphony.
The second movement mode of fast moving
compound meters explores the textures
from unison to multi-harmonic writing
for the whole ensemble …" Need
I say more, except that I recommend
this to fans of Philip Glass – others,
steer well clear.
John Phillips
see also rather
more positive reviews by Hubert
Culot and Rob
Barnett
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop.
