Philip Glass is Reflected at Carnegie Hall

Glass and Next Generation

By: Susan Hall – Dec 09, 2017

The Glass Violin Concerto got an arresting performance, crowned by Tim Fain, an incredible artist who drew us in with the prelude and then three songs on violin which begin each movement. This 2009 piece is as fresh as the sunflower tucked in a projection stage right.

The composition uses the small Vivaldi string orchestra to which a synthesizer has been added.  Often it sounds like a baroque harpsichord.  The furious tuttis are also familiar from Vivaldi’s Seasons. Yet the piece is very much Glass, with pulsing rhythms and tender lyricism, always driven and driving us along with it.  The conclusion here is furious.  The fabulous artist Fain captures it all.

Glass in discussion with Dessner maintains that he does not particularly think about what he is doing or about to do. He keeps the work he is working on front and center. This may give the present feel to pieces composed decades ago. Certainly the light references to a Vivaldi composition, which is so familiar that it is almost overused, takes new colors and sounds. The impact of this Glass work can not be underestimated.

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