Customer Reviews

Philip Glass: Glassworks

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Composer Philip Glass broke new ground with his 1982 work "Glassworks". Besides being his debut for Sony Music (then CBS Records), "Glassworks" also became one of his best known compositions and is still his overall best-selling recording.
There is a variety of mood and texture heard throughout "Glassworks" six movements. "Opening" is a pure solo piano piece which segues effortlessly into the second part "Floe" performed by Philip Glass's ensemble consisting of various keyboards, woodwinds and horns. Both "Floe" and "Rubric" (the fourth movement) are chock full of Glass's trademark fast-paced arppegiated rhythms, dense harmonics and consistantly shifting time signatures. The third and fifth parts ("Island" and "Facades" respectively) feature beautifully scored string sections aided by woodwinds along with slow repeated phrases. The "Closing" movement is simply a reprise of the opening except that it is scored for ensemble as opposed to solo piano.
The remastered edition of "Glassworks" features superb sound quality and adds a renewed freshness to the original recording. There are also five bonus "Dance" pieces from Glass's 1986 work "In The Upper Room". These Dances also feature the composer's trademarks as well as great orchestration (especially "Dance IX" which features triumphant themes and variations).
Overall, if you are familiar with the music of Philip Glass, you'll know exactly what to expect with this CD. For those unfamiliar and looking for a place to start, "Glassworks" is an essential introduction.
Definitely Classic Minimalist Music at its Finest!!

The orginal version of this CD is one of my very favorite Philip Glass Cd's, and I was excited to see it remastered. The remastering job is quite good....the levels of the instruments are much louder, and more importantly, you get much better separation of the instruments. I listened to it in the car and you could hear instruments coming in from every direction. In other words, a sonic improvement over the orginal.

As for the songs themselves, "Opening", "Facades", and "Islands" are my favorites. In fact, I own a copy of the score of this album, and in it you see the intricate weaving of the instruments, the subtle building of Facades and Islands, and the excellent use of unorthodox chord choices. The music is unsettling on one level, and yet relaxing. It's fantastic.

Philip Glass (especially during this early 80's era and before) does use repetition and slow buildups in his music. Although I can't imagine someone knowing of Glass and NOT associating him with such music, I advise anyone with a revulsion to minmalist music to steer clear.

That being said, anyone with a taste for "modern" music, unusual chord choices, and wanting to learn more about Glass's style should pick up this CD. It's a good introduction. The bonus tracks (originally released on a separate CD) also give a taste for his writing for strings.

And if you don't take my word for it, note that the original Glassworks CD is listed as an Amazon.com Essential Recording.

It came as a bit of a shock that I should stumble over a remastered version of one of my favorite Philip Glass pieces a mere month after I bought the original cd. Digital technology has progressed greatly since 1982 and Glassworks benefits greatly from it. Notable hiss on the Opening is now non- existant and Jack Kripl's flute is no longer harsh.
Fans of Glass's later works on the Nonesuch label may notice that Glassworks is also much louder than any of those recordings. Terrific!

Simply, the question is of the following: Is P. Glass one of the 20th century's most creative artists, lending a sublte poignancy to his pieces; or, on the other hand, is Glass merely the most overrated hack in classical music today, utilizing almost endlessly repeating arpeggios to the chagrin of the listener's ear (not to mention, patience)?

From my rating, I clearly fall into the first camp. However, the pleasure you will derive from this CD is undoubtedly personal and subjective, based upon both experience and taste. No doubt, the arguments on both side of the question are passionate and entrenched. I suggest, instead, that you listen to the tracks that Amazon provides. This will give you a sense as to whether you will love or hate the music.

As for my experience with the music, I agree with several fellow reviewers: Glass's methodology is wholeheartedly expressive, providing the composer with ample space to slowly build and play on different moods within the work, making the listener conscious of individual notes, instruments, and rhythms within the ensemble. The only thing I can think to compare this with is, perhaps, flavors. Either you can eat a piece of chocolate hurriedly and grasp the totality of its flavor; or you may calmly savor it and, perhaps, find a nice caramal center, unmask the interplay of various textures, and discover satisfaction in its simplicity.

Bear in mind, however, I approached Philip Glass after having a large exposure to Ravi Shankar and 'classical Indian' music. Some, not all, of the music is rhythmically repetitive. This experience, I think, predisposed me to liking Glass's compositions.

Although I'd heard of Philip Glass I was quite unaware of his music until I attended a performance of The Upper Room by the Washington Ballet in October 2006. The music is by Philip Glass and the choreography by Twyla Tharp. It was one of the most memorable artistic experiences of my life. It was incredible.

I subsequently purchased Glassworks and find the music to be extremely powerful. I recommend this album absolutely. I find most of the pieces on the album to be profoundly moving. The last movement from "The Upper Room" is especially powerful and significant.

In a joke email about the Mozart effect that a friend of mine recieved, the effect of several other composers' music on children was discussed as if it had an effect on the children like Mozart's music does. In "The Glass Effect", "a child tends to repeat him or herself over and over and over and over and over and over and over again." This is true, Glass's music, "Glassworks" in particular, is alarmingly repetitive. The reason that most people knock this set of pieces is because they are totally missing the point. Glass's music has been categorized in the realm of "minimalism." The point of minimalism is to do as much as possible with the least amount of music. Glass executes this agenda quite well with "Glassworks." Most people don't exactly realize what Glass is doing by repeating himself over and over again.

First of all people have to realize a few things about this music. Philip Glass did not intend on having this music being played in the background at your next dinner party. Leave that up to Bach and Mozart. What Glass did want with this piece was for mature listeners to realize what he has done with texture and simplicity. Also, Glass's works are not about melody. They are about texture and mood and atmosphere. Each piece has its own shape little additions keep the piece from becoming overly monotonous. I think that Glass has made a great musical statement with his set of pieces that should be carefully digested with an open mind.

For the most part, Glass's concept works. However, the second movement "Floe" could probably be axed or revised. This is the only movement that seems to get unbelivably monotonous. It's also a lot to digest at the beginning of the suite. If it came more towards the end before the closing as opposed to after the opening where it functions as more of a rhythmic pie in the face. Some of the movements could also stand to use a little more variation but for the most part, Glass keeps the pieces interesting.

I cannot say much about the other work, "In the Other Room" that appears on this album, because I own the original Glassworks album. I just wanted to clear up some of the misconceptions that many have about this different music. It's hard to say whether or not Glass's music will stand up to the same test of time as the music of the greats like Mozart's and Bach's, but things are not looking good for Glass, not because the music isn't good, but becuase too many ignorant people immediately dismiss it as garbage. It seems that if people openly knock this music like they do, the same people that put those parental advisory stickers on CDs might want to instigate a separate rating system. This one should be stickered with: "CDMA: Mature Audiences Only."

Firstly lets talk about his influence! From Coldplay, Lauri Anderson, Aphex Twin, Portishead, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, and Brian Eno to numerous other copy cats and com-posers who have used his arpeggiations to build drama and intensity in otherwise minimalist tracks. Philip Glass has forever changed the landscape of both Compositional and Popular Music.

Glassworks shows off Philip Glass's talents as a composer and at the point of its release, this form of composition had not become old hat. This was a truly shocking piece of music. Unlike Steve Reich who's compositions never escaped the academic trademark, Philip Glass went Pop with this music. This album marks that point. It's not a "composition" in the standard sense of Classical music. It's a collection of individual works tied together with brilliant production and an overall idea about the direction of the music takes.

Glassworks opens with one of the Twentieth Century's best piano solos 'Opening' to open up into 'Floe' a GIGANTIC and fast whirlwind composition that gives the listener the sense of speeding forward at rocket speed. It doesn't get more Modern than that! Texturally it's anything but subtle. Instead of using instruments to create fluid transitions between each movement, Glass works in layers that build, change and stop. The brass and flutes are going full force and mallets churn the foundation of each phrase. It's a call and response kind of interaction between each primary part of the composition. Somewhat like a gaggle of Geese or Human Chants and Tribal Music. Each horn interacts and puffs up its chest to show it's self at some point. It's very human, natural and primal and it just might give you goosebumps.

Island meanders a bit but is basically the perfect end to Side One of the Record...Yes, it clearly there to be the end of Side One, something that is lost in the CD version. Note the order of the songs...it's designed for a Record.

Side Two opens with Rubric, probably Glass's best piece of music. It shows off every alement we have come to recognize him by; Brass, Electric Organ, Chimes and Mallets. Unlike Floe in being bombastic, it is energetic and driving while maintaining a certain subtlety. Listen to how each instrument starts their call and then moves, changes, stops and reverses its wheels. It's bloody outstanding work! The horns on the top of the pact call forward each passage and gain intensity both in meter and in pitch towards the end. Again...rocket speed! This time you do launch off only to stop dead in your tracks with Facades.

Facades is a similar String track to 'Island' and meanders. Philip Glass is not the best composer for Strings. Somehow they restrain him and if anything create a tense suspense in his music. By the mid point though, the horns do take over and the track starts to open up.

Closing is a variation of Opening. Don't mistake that Piano for the same as what's in Opening. It is different and for the end of this masterpiece, the Horns cry. Where Opening is melancholic, Closing has a sense of despair to it.

It's important to know that The Philip Glass Ensemble was actually quite small in size compared to your standard orchestra but with the wall of sound they created here you'd never know it.

- Michael Martarano

Around 1980-Just when people thought it was impossible for anyone to compose "classical" music that was fresh, original and appealing, Philip Glass and his minimalist style came along. The idea is that the mood builds up in a repeatetive (trance-like) manner. On this CD, it is quite ineresting how Glass manages to create various moods, as well as, capture human emotions, in what may seem to be a very limiting framework. He makes very good use of orchestral colors through various instruments.

Other minimalist pieces that are also quite moving are "Nixon in China" by Adams and "Song of Sorrow" by Gorecki.

We all seem to require a soundtrack to our lives; this is one that I use when I want to think clearly and approach a difficult issue with energy. You may want to concentrate on the music first, then take up your outside problem, but for those of us who can be creative thinkers, but who are easily distracted, I find that listening before and during the creative process does help keep me focused.

I first heard some of this music in David Byrne's "True Stories", although at the time I didn't know it. What I do know is that Philip Glass's work: "Solo Piano" is fantastic-5 star in my book. So moving forward I picked up "Glassworks" for more of the same Glass-greatness.

Well, this is an ensemble, not a solo piano. So the repetitious - driving - undulating thrust of the notes are voiced by instruments other than (and including) the piano. It can be repetitious and difficult, even as background music.

I give it 4 stars because it is so unique, bold, original and challenging. And I am glad to have this work in my collection.