Philip GLASS (b.1936)
Tirol Concerto for piano and orchestra (2000) [30:04]
Symphony No. 14 “The Liechtenstein Suite” (2021) [19:57]
Echorus for Two Violins and Strings (1995) [6:15]
Martin James Bartlett (piano)
Elif Ece Cansever (violin), Amber Emson (violin)
LGT Young Soloists/Alexander Gilman, Mark Messenger (symphony)
rec. 16 & 17 July 2021, Studio 1 Abbey Road Studios, London
ORANGE MOUNTAIN MUSIC OMM0161 [56:19]
The Tirol Concerto was Philip Glass’s first piano concerto, its title pointing towards Tyrolean songs that are quoted in the music. Opening with a piano solo, the first movement has a driving momentum within relatively quiet and flowing ideas, the harmonic push having a positive, upward reaching mood. Orange Mountain Music already has the Tirol Concerto from a recording made in 2002 (review). The second movement, a beautiful set of variations based on a repeating harmonic progression, seems to have become something of a cult hit. There is a version on YouTube that that has somehow been stretched to over an hour (note that the timing on the backcover
here – 6:08 – is incorrect: it is 17:54). The third movement balances the first in being even more rousing, with syncopations giving extra rhythmic bite.
The Symphony No. 14 is for a string orchestra of fourteen players, and the whole piece has a gentle, intimate atmosphere that is part of the composer’s statement about music in general: “You start with a small audience and then it got bigger. I am in a different place now. I’m looking for smaller audiences again.” There are chamber music sections and some eloquent solo passages, and the whole thing is coped with very well by these young players, Philip Glass’s signature arpeggios and sparing but lyrically expressive melodic lines leaving the musicians nowhere to hide. After a haunting second movement in which a quintet is joined by the rest of the group further along, the third movement is more spectacular, the second half taking off in a swirling vortex of Glass.
The final piece, Echorus for two solo violins and string orchestra was originally written for Edna Michell and Yehudi Menuhin, and is “meant to evoke feelings of serenity and peace.” This indeed it does, being the kind of piece much appreciated by this ensemble: “When we play Echorus, everything stands still and we find ourselves in a different world.”
This is a very well played and recorded album. The string balance could arguably have been a little higher against the piano in the Tirol Concerto but this is a minor point. Fans of Philip Glass will know more or less what to expect, but I have to admit this is a bit special.
Dominy Clements
