Any Philip Glass fans?

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  • 01-19-2011, 06:53 AM
    nobody
    Any Philip Glass fans?
    Was listening to Dance Pieces last night and realizing how little I know about this fellow. I also have a copy of Koyaanisqatsi somewhere. But really, I'm not sure where to even start looking for more stuff to check out.

    Anyone have any favorites to suggest?
  • 01-19-2011, 05:15 PM
    Finch Platte
    Hmmm, looks like Obner was a better bet in this case. :D
  • 01-19-2011, 06:35 PM
    JohnMichael
    I am a fan of Phillip Glass. He has performed at a local college several times and I have missed him each time. You might like "Songs from liquid days". This is an album of songs with lyrics written by Lauri Anderson, David Byrne, Paul Simon and Suzanne Vega. Music by Phillip Glass and various artists performing the songs.

    I also like Phillip Glass's recording "Two Pages, Contrary Motion, Music In Fifths, and Music In Similar Motion". A little avant garde and written in response to classical music's desire to end repetitive themes. This music is repetitive to an extreme. Interesting.

    I also have Phillip Glass's "The Photographer". I need to listen to that again since it has been too long. I will respond with my reactions to the music.

    I also have Dance Pieces.
  • 01-20-2011, 05:40 AM
    nobody
    I have heard Liquid Days and wasn't really too fond of it. Didn't care for the vocals with it. Two pages.... sounds interesting. Will have to check that out. Will be curious to hear what you think of The Photographer.
  • 01-20-2011, 06:14 AM
    Feanor
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nobody
    Was listening to Dance Pieces last night and realizing how little I know about this fellow. I also have a copy of Koyaanisqatsi somewhere. But really, I'm not sure where to even start looking for more stuff to check out.

    Anyone have any favorites to suggest?

    Phillip Glass?? Better than your average New Age, I guess ... but ultimately SO boring. :sleep:

    I have a couple of Glass recordings, including string quartets performed by the Kronos Quartet, and Low Symphony performed by Dennis Russell Davies & the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The former is too boring for words, (but, hey, they're string quartets, eh? :D ). The latter makes OK background music for while you're reading a book -- or trying to get to sleep.

    I would like to check out the Koyaanisqatsi film score at some point, though.

    http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image...50560110.L.jpg

    Phillip Glass' music is generally classified as "classical", but don't judge the classical genre by Phillip Glass.
  • 01-20-2011, 09:44 AM
    nobody
    Well aware he does not come close to being representative of classical music in general. I'm not super knowledgeable but I go to the symphony a couple times a year and have a small collection of classical records, pretty haphazardly and randomly thrown together as they are. However, I do get a taste for some minimalism and his repetition sometimes gets my attention. If you have other modern classical composers and particular recordings to suggest, please do.
  • 01-20-2011, 11:00 AM
    Feanor
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nobody
    Well aware he does not come close to being representative of classical music in general. I'm not super knowledgeable but I go to the symphony a couple times a year and have a small collection of classical records, pretty haphazardly and randomly thrown together as they are. However, I do get a taste for some minimalism and his repetition sometimes gets my attention. If you have other modern classical composers and particular recordings to suggest, please do.

    I'm certainly not criticizing people who like Glass, just saying he's a little too minimalist for my taste. But, BTW, I'm getting a copy of the Koyaanisquatsi film score, so I'll let you know how I feel about that.

    Also in the Minimalist vein, I probably prefer John Adams. I have two or three recordings: I can recommend these two ...

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...DL._AA300_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

    From the relatively little of his work that I've heard, I'd put Steve Reich in the same category as Glass; you might like him. I have this recording; I like Electric Counterpoint may be better than Different Trains ...

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

    There are also the "Holy Minimalists"; I have a few recordings by Arvo Pärt and John Tavener. A great album for sound as well as performance is this ...

    http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image....L._AA300_.jpg

    A very nice album that features both Pärt and Tavener is this one, (Andrew Parrott conducts the Taverner Choir) ...

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg
  • 01-20-2011, 11:57 AM
    nobody
    Thanks for the recommendations, will definitely be looking into some of this. Reich was already on my list to look into and I've heard of Adams although I've not actually heard him. Going to have to do some digging around to find a few of these.
  • 01-20-2011, 04:15 PM
    thekid
    I know the name more than the music. I did manage to pick-up a copy of "Glassmasters" for a couple of dollars at local thrift about a month ago. It appears to be a 3-disc greatest hits collection. I have not been able to listen to all of it but my first impression is that is a little uneven but I remain open until I have spent more listening. Minimalism in many art forms can be very effective and powerful but when it misses it can miss by a mile IMO. I am impressed with the engineering and sound quality of this collection and hope to listen to it some more in the future.
  • 01-21-2011, 06:26 PM
    Woochifer
    Haven't really gone too far beyond the Qatsi trilogy and Songs From Liquid Days. I've seen the Philip Glass Ensemble perform the accompaniment to Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi live -- an absolutely astounding experience if anybody gets a chance to see this in person. They also toured a few years ago performing Koyaanisqatsi and Naqoyqatsi at symphony halls around the country, but I missed that.

    Purely as a soundtrack, I'd go with Powaqqatsi.