New Releases by Philip Glass

A stunning, deluxe boxed set of composer Philip Glass''s most important and historic body of work, his collection of twenty Piano Etudes, along with a book of reflections by notable artists and musicians. Philip Glass is one of the most influential artists and composers of our time. The Complete Piano Etudes box contains Glass''s most seminal and personal work, his twenty piano etudes, consisting of twenty sewn bound expandable folios of each piece of music, along with a bound collection of essays and reflections by notable writers, musicians, artists, and famous admirers, including Lucinda Childs, Nathan Chen, Alice Waters, Maira Kalman, Martin Scorcese, and more, connected to this body of work. Glass began composing the Etudes, or "studies," in the early 1990s. Book 1, the first set of 10 Etudes, were composed for Glass himself to work on his own playing. While on this journey, it became clear that Glass was no longer composing just for himself, but rather to be played and enjoyed by others. The Etudes were completed in 2012, remaining unpublished until 2014. The published volumes of the two complete volumes of the Etudes became an instant staple of modern music repertoire and a compendium of the finest elements of Philip Glass''s later music. There have been dozens of recordings in part and in whole by artists on the most prestigious record labels. At just over two hours long, the music itself became a self-contained concert experience, performed internationally by some of the world''s great interpreters. This deluxe volume of Glass''s historic body is to be cherished by music lovers, piano students and players as a lasting heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation. It''s a beautiful object to display at home, and to be explored at the keyboard.

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New York Times Bestseller An NPR Best Book of the Year Winner of the Chicago Tribune Literary Award Finalist for the Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing "Reads the way Mr. Glass''s compositions sound at their best: propulsive, with a surreptitious emotional undertow." —Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-twentieth-century classical music. Yet in Words Without Music, his critically acclaimed memoir, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness. Whether describing working as an unlicensed plumber in gritty 1970s New York or composing Satyagraha, Glass breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. Words Without Music ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.

THE TWENTY ETUDES FOR PIANO were composed during the years from 1991 to 2012. Their final configuration into Book 1 and Book 2 was determined by the music itself in the course of its composition. Book 1 (Etudes 1–10) had a twin objective — to explore a variety of tempi, textures and piano techniques. At the same time it was meant to serve as a pedagogical tool by which I would improve my piano playing. In these two ways, Book 1 succeeded very well. I learned a great deal about the piano and in the course of learning the music, I became a better player. New projects came along and interrupted the work on the Etudes for several years. Perhaps for that reason, when I took up work with the Etudes again I found the music was following a new path. Though I had settled questions of piano technique for myself in Book 1, the music in Book 2 quickly began to suggest a series of new adventures in harmony and structure. In this way, Books 1 and 2, taken together, suggest a real trajectory that includes a broad range of music and technical ideas. In the end, the Etudes are meant to be appreciated not only by the general listener, but especially by those who have the ability and patience to learn, play and perform the music themselves.

In his two best-known symphonies ("Low" and "Heroes"), Philip Glass worked his minimalist magic on the tunes of David Bowie and Brian Eno, with whom he naturally felt an ambient affinity. His Third Symphony (1995), receiving its premiere recording here, looks to an entirely different tradition: the euphonious sound of the string orchestra, as explored in modern symphonies by the likes of William Schuman and Arthur Honegger and countless other works by composers from Bartk̤ to Tippett. It''s a congenial medium for Glass, creating a homogenous milieu for his placid repetitions. The symphony''s heart is its third movement, where serenely cycling harmonies support a gradually thickening web of counterpoint; this is Glass''s trademark style at its finest. Also making its overdue recorded premiere on this disc is "The Light" (1987), a more varied orchestral score with bright brass and piccolo embodying the luminosity of its title and a rhythmic impetus that choreographs the rays of light in sprightly dances. Between these major works, longtime Glass advocate Dennis Russell Davies brings us interludes from two of the composer''s operas: a lively "Mechanical Ballet" from his 1992 Metropolitan Opera commission, "The Voyage," plus two excerpts from "the CIVIL warS" that surprisingly but unmistakably make reference to Tchaikovsky''s "Nutcracker." A must for Glass fans, this album will also prove to any doubters that the elegant restraint and simplicity of his style can embrace an ample expressive range.

Symphony No.3 (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) -- Interlude no.1 from the Civil warS (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) -- Mechanical Ballet from The Voyage (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra) -- Interlude no.2 from the Civil warS (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) -- The Light (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra).