Philip Glass

To celebrate the 80th birthday of the legendary American composer, The Complete Sony Recordings is the first ever release of Philip Glass Sony Classical recordings together in a limited-edition box set. The 24-CD set includes the first ever release of Glassworks specially mixed for your personal cassette player on CD, a 44 minute interview with Philip Glass on Glassworks (previously only available on a Columbia 7 ), a hard bound book with the original liner notes, most penned by Glass himself, plus full discographical notes and complete libretti.

This resolutely modern album is a musical portrait of Philip Glass. Angèle Dubeau has always maintained a passionate interest in all musical forms; this curiosity led her to explore the works of Glass and to paint a dramatic portrait of the composer with these personal choices of some of his most significant works for strings. For a number of years, Angèle Dubeau has collaborated with Philip Glass in New York while working on his first violin concerto. In light of this relationship, Glass authorized, for the first time, an overview of his work with musicians other than the ones he works with regularly. With this repertoire, Angèle Dubeau proves her artistic maturity while exploring new territories, bringing this discovery - or rediscovery - of this great composer of our time to her public.

"Music in 12 Parts would most likely be classified as a minimal work, it was a breakthrough for me and contains many of the structural and harmonic ideas that would be fleshed out in my later works. It is a modular work, one of the first such compositions, with twelve distinct parts which can be performed separately in one long sequence, or in any combination or variation."

Philip Glass’ original score to Monique Gardenberg’s 1995 political thriller “Jenipapo”, starring Henry Czerny, brought Glass another opportunity to composed against the backdrop of the Brazilian landscape and the tumult of political upheaval. The story of the film follows a reporter in his search to track down an influential priest who has gone silent during a political battle over Brazil’s forests. Glass’ score reflects the political implications of the film as well as the vast canvas against which the it is set.

Michael Riesman is the conductor and producer of nearly every Philip Glass soundtrack recording, including the Academy-Award nominated scores to KUNDUN, THE HOURS and NOTES ON A SCANDAL. PHILIP GLASS SOUNDTRACKS presents his own transcriptions for solo piano of some of the best Philip Glass film scores.

We found a recording of 13 Melodies for Solo Saxophone when we were building the Philip Glass recording archive. As I listened to this wonderful recording of Andrew Sterman's performances, I was struck by the beautiful simplicity and purity of these compositions, they seemed to portray the very essence of much of Philip Glass' music. I knew that this particular recording was made as 'incidental' music for Joanne Akalaitis' Theatrical production of Jean Genet's Prisoner Of Love in 1995, but upon further research I found that the Melodies were actually a sketch book for the Saxophone Concerto which was commissioned by the world renowned Rascher Saxophone Quartet.

With SOLO PIANO, Glass presents himself "unplugged" - no electronic keyboards or synthesizers, and no overdubs, either - just solo piano. Here, Glass' connection to the established "classical" tradition is most evident. Though his pieces are "minimal" (subtly altered repeated patterns or melodic motifs), yet they have an unsentimental beauty and heartfelt grace that one would hear in J.S. Bach's English Suites, as well as the piano music of Chopin and Erik Satie.

In New York it is impossible, almost forced, not to end up trapped by the music of Philip Glass. His operas sound at the Metropolitan Opera, his portrait by Chuck Close on the 86th Street subway and that “Mad Rush” of the city that never sleeps. This project was born influenced by the performer’s musical moment and circumstances after having lived in the Big Apple for 7 years.