Philip Glass

The Orange Mountain Music release "Music 4 Hands" is a collection of new recordings on dual pianos performed by Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa. The compositions are "Six Scenes from Les Enfants Terribles" for two pianos based on the original opera by Philip Glass as well as a Steve Reich’s "Piano Phase". "Music 4 Hands" debuts these new arrangements by Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa.

The recording of the original production of Philip Glass' and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach has iconic significance both in the development of the musical style unfortunately known as minimalism, as well as in the history of music in the late twentieth century. It was a watershed moment when Glass and his ensemble brought the nearly five-hour opera to the Metropolitan Opera House in 1976; his unique aesthetic convictions moved from the rarefied atmosphere of loft concerts into the face of the classical music establishment in a way that could not be ignored.

In honor of Philip Glass' 70th birthday, Sony has devoted two CDs to 18 short works and movements of larger works, from recordings in its archive. The set provides a useful introduction to the composer's work from a relatively brief span in his long career, from 1976 to 1988. It was an exceptionally productive period for Glass; works written during that period include his three large-scale portrait operas – Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten – all represented here, as well as two very popular albums of short pieces: Glassworks and Songs From Liquid Days.

Philip Glass - A Portrait Of Philip In Twelve Parts (2009) [2xDVD] {KOCH Lorber Films}
2xDVD9 -> 14.4 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch | ~ 300 min | ISO Images
Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar | Subs: English
© 2009 KOCH Lorber Films / Ava Bridge | KLF-DV-3164
Classical / Avant-Garde / Documentary / Biography

A uniquely intimate portrait of the music icon, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts explores the contemporary composer's creative process in opera, concert, and film, interwoven with candid scenes of his personal and spiritual life. In July 2005, filmmaker Scott Hicks started shooting a documentary about the composer Philip Glass to celebrate his 70th birthday in 2007. Over the next 18 months, he followed Glass across three continents, from his annual ride on the Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster, to the world premiere of his new opera in Germany, to a performance with a didgeridoo virtuoso in Australia.

To fully appreciate the sheer, unbridled audacity of these four early works by Philip Glass, it is helpful, for a moment, to imagine that it's 1969 and you've never heard any of the composer's music before. Indeed, in 1969, it would have been unlikely that you'd heard anything like this before.