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There is nothing minimal about the work of composer Philip Glass, although he is often credited as being one of the foremost composers of minimalism - a term used to describe a style of composition that relies on repetitive, pulsing, consonant musical figures. Philip Glass recently told Belinda McKeon of The Irish Times (2008) he prefers the term "classicist." His music is repetitive and pulsating; it is also intricate and precise. He has written symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music, and solo pieces. He has been nominated three times for an Academy Award for film scores. Over his career, his music has developed a character that identifies it exclusively as his. Wide-ranging influences produced music rich with subtle intricacy, philosophical subjects and abstraction. The melody-derived structures have an emotional range from spirited flickering flights to darker, diminished, serpentine creations.

Unfortunately I was late to the performance, as were many KU students that streamed into the Lied Center long after the opening. The staff of the Lied Center were exceptionally courteous as they helped people to their seats in the modern chamber music setting. The audience was varied in age and dress was casual to dressy. Glass has developed a large following since the release of his famous film score Koyaanisqatsi and subsequent album Glassworks in 1982.

The ensemble included Philip Glass on piano, Wendy Sutter on cello and Mick Rossi on percussion. Throughout the concert Glass introduced each piece. He was soft spoken, but well understood, and he joked about having composed so many pieces that he couldn't remember all the subtitles.

Some readers may be interested to know that Philip Glass has collaborated throughout his career with many artists, such as Woody Allen, David Bowie, David Byrne, Leonard Cohen, Brian Eno, Allen Ginsberg, Steve Reich, Linda Ronstadt, Ravi Shankar and Paul Simon.

The first piece on the program was Tissues from Naqoyqatsi (2002), based on music from the concluding installment of the Koyaanisqatsi trilogy. Naqoyqatsi is Hopi for "life as war." Mary Elizabeth Thompson wrote in the program notes for the Lied Center performance that the piece portrays our modern world "...that is not only at war on the battlefield, but at war underneath the surface in its own struggle with the old versus the new." This version of the music was taken from the orchestral film score and revised for solo cello and percussion.

Glass performed two suites of solo piano music. First, Metamorphosis II, III, IV (1988), which was inspired by the story of the same name by Franz Kafka and arranged for the documentary film The Thin Blue Line (1988) directed by Errol Morris. The other piano suite was Etudes II & X. These two studies are from a collection that Glass is still adding to, according to the program notes, to provide music for his piano concerts, and also to challenge himself as a performer.

Songs and Poems for Cello was a re-composition for cellist Wendy Sutter of Glass' Taiji: Chaotic Harmony (2006), written for a short film directed by Sat Chuen Hon. This work of seven movements was premiered by Sutter in 2007. It is a musical exercise in tai chi and qigong. Sutter is an exceptional cellist. When she plays it is as though the cello is not a just a solo instrument, but sounds seems to emanate from a unified kinetic sculpture.

The Orchid (1989) was arranged into three sections to fit the ensemble. This piece was originally composed for the 1961 political play The Screens by Jean Genet about the Algerian war of independence from France. For that work, Glass collaborated with Foday Musa Suso of Gambia. I may have detected some missed notes on the piano in the difficult passages of this concerto trio, but the sudden, tight ending produced encouraging applause. The first section of the piece had an improvisational quality. The cello of Wendy Sutter was again impeccable when she played a duet with Mick Rossi on celesta in the second section of the piece, a quick unison pattern that was performed flawlessly. Sutter and Rossi never missed; the low runs on the cello perfectly synched with the bells of the celesta two octaves higher. It was both impressive and delightful.

The final section of The Orchid was melodic, emotional and cinematic. One can hear the composer's skill in creating emotional passages while still employing minimalist elements. In music like this, the minimalist style appears to be more of a feature; the depth of the music with the combination of emotionality and multi-cultural flavor created a rich listening experience.  

The last two works in particular were of Glass' post-minimalist phase and reveal influences from ethnic music. African and Eastern European scales were heard. The music was still consonant, but the modal patterns were more diminished and intriguing.

The ensemble performed an arrangement of Glass' fast and fiery music from Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent (1996), a film directed by Christopher Hampton. This work again commanded recognition of the excellence of the musicians and the wide-ranging emotion of the melody. It sounded more "classical" than the others, perhaps because of the quick melodic counterpoint.

There were two encores. Glass performed Closing, the final selection from his 1982 recording Glassworks. This work sounded like a happy conclusion; it was relaxed and harmonious and an excellent good-bye. Then cellist Wendy Sutter and Mick Rossi, again on the celesta, performed a duet of a repetitive, intricate melody that rose to an ending with stratospheric harmonic tones from the cello.

This concert showcased a great overview of the career of Philip Glass with examples of minimalism, but also the breadth of his rich and flavorful post-minimalist repertoire. And the music was perfectly performed by the three accomplished and precise musicians.


REVIEW:
Lied Center at KU
Philip Glass: An Evening of Chamber Music
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Lied Center of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
www.lied.ku.edu

By Scott Easterday

New Classical Contributor, VIDs Department Director

Scott Easterday is a musician and singer/songwriter. He writes reviews and performs interviews for KCMetropolis in New Classical and explores new directions in the performing arts.