|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
A Philip Glass Concert: Much Ado About Nothing
| Article
# : |
12174 |
|
|
Section : |
THE ARTS
|
| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1987 |
1,343 Words |
| Author
: |
Emerson Randolph
|
The currently noted composer Philip Glass brought his performance troupe, the Philip Glass Ensemble, to Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall last November to present the New York premiere of his "Descent into the Maelstrom," the "Prelude" from the Koln Section of the Civil War: a tree is best measured when it is down, and his immensely popular song cycle Songs of Liquid Days.
Glass has received a great deal of attention these past several years, due mainly to his treatment of subjects of sociological interest and of cultural realities other than those of his native America. An example is his opera, Satygraha, about Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi. His recent and very well-received "crossover" into quasi-popular realms with Songs of Liquid Days has also made him a focus of fascination. I was curious to know what all the fuss was about.
Having attended the concert, however, I don't know. Can't figure it out for anything. There were some lovely voices, and in general such material as there was, was performed well. But it was downright boring.
The "Prelude" and "A Descent," which constituted the gratifyingly short first half of the program, combine the forces of the synthesizer with traditional instrumentation and were cast, surely enough, in the direction of the popular style. But partnerships of synthesizers and traditional instruments are already commonplace, and there is scarcely anything novel in them any longer. Moreover, the interest generated by interminably repeated fifths or octaves on the synthesizer at high levels of volume while the other instrumentalists wave little fragments of melody through the air like so many tattered flags,
... (1998 of 7926 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
