Although the new musical style that Glass was evolving was labelled
as minimalism, Glass never liked the
term and preferred to speak of himself as a composer of ‘music with repetitive
structures.’ He has now composed more than twenty operas, eight symphonies, two
piano concertos and concertos for violin, piano, timpani, and saxophone quartet
and orchestra, soundtracks to films, string quartets and works for solo piano
and organ. Glass presents lectures, workshops, and solo keyboard performances
around the world, and continues to appear regularly with the Philip Glass
Ensemble.
Philip Glass’
Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, written in 2000/01, has been
recorded in a transcription by Mark Lortz http://marklortz.com on a new release from Naxos www.naxos.com , coupled with Mohammed Fairouz’s 2012 composition, his Symphony No.4 In the Shadow of No Towers both played
by the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble http://music.ku.edu/programs/band/windens/windensemble.shtml directed by Paul W. Popiel http://music.ku.edu/programs/band/faculty/popiel
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| 8.573205 |
Mohammed Fairouz
(b.1985) http://mohammedfairouz.com
a resident of New York City, studied at the Curtis Institute and New England
Conservatory and composition under György Ligeti, Gunther Schuller, and Richard
Danielpour. His compositions, that incorporate Middle-Eastern modes into
Western structures, include four symphonies, an opera, fourteen song cycles, ensemble
works, chamber and solo pieces, choral settings, and electronic music.
Fairouz has received many commissions for works including
from the Detroit and Alabama Symphony Orchestras, the Borromeo Quartet, Imani
Winds, the New Juilliard Ensemble and Cantus Vocal Ensemble. He was chosen by
the BBC to be a featured artist for the television series Collaboration
Culture.
The University of Kansas Wind Ensemble is joined by timpanists Ji Hye Jung www.vicfirth.com/artists/jung.php
and Gwendolyn Burgett www.vicfirth.com/artists/burgett.php
in Philip Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for
Two Timpanists and Orchestra.
Movement 1 opens
full of life, with pounding drums and vibrant, rhythmic playing from the wind
ensemble. As the music settles it reveals varying wind harmonies and subtleties
that help to lift the music from its simple structure. Rhythmically the music
certainly pulls the listener along.
Movement 2 has a
rather sombre tone as quietly sounding timpani are slowly joined by various
wind instruments as this movement beats a slow rhythmic beat against a delicate
wind theme. Slowly the ensemble grows in power as sections of the winds weave
around the insistent rhythm before descending to a hushed coda.
Cadenzas allows
some spectacularly fine playing from both soloists with a percussion
contribution that includes xylophone and tom toms. This is a surprisingly
engrossing section with many subtle sounds that leads straight into Movement 3 with almost tribal timpani strokes
before the wind ensemble enters adding a rather playful feel. Rhythmic
variations add to the interest as well as virtuoso nature of the cadenzas.
This is a most enjoyable work, in places good fun. It is
finely played by these artists.
Mohammed Fairouz’s Symphony
No.4 In the Shadow of No Towers
(2012) takes its inspiration from a comic book by Art Spiegelman http://barclayagency.com/spiegelman.html that captures the horror and reactions to the tragedy of the terrorist attacks
of September 11th 2001. Written for wind ensemble, the University of
Kansas Wind Ensemble is joined in this recording by trumpeter, Janis Porietis www.janisporietis.com .
The New Normal opens
quietly, drawing lovely sonorities from the wind ensemble with some quite
unusual sounds. Suddenly a huge outburst changes the nature of the music – the
horror of 9/11 – a rising motif with clashing chords. The music quietens a
little, in a kind of quick funeral march before the opening theme returns but
is interrupted by the violent second theme. A quiet, sinister section appears with
a plaintive trumpet over the sonorities of the ensemble that continues until
the end.
Notes of a Heartbroken
Narcissist is scored for timpani, two sets of chimes, bass drum, harp,
piano double bass and suspended cymbals that are scratched by coins to create
the strange, quiet opening. The chimes enter as do piano, harp and double bass
in this haunting music, a landscape of bleak destruction. The music descends to
the depths with piano and double bass in their lowest register along with strange
percussion sounds. The bells continue to chime occasionally as if in memoriam. Eventually
the music reduces to cymbals before harp picks out a theme. Slowly the music
growls in the bass with piano and double bass before there is almost silence as
cymbals quietly sound to end.
One Nation Under Two
Flags comes as a shock as the wind ensemble loudly play a marching theme
backed by xylophone in this almost caustic take on patriotic march themes with
the music moving into a swing version of a march. Dissonant interruptions try
to break up the rhythm before the music fragments into variations of the theme
before returning to the lively, brash march to end.
Wood blocks give the rhythm of a ticking of a clock in Anniversaries before the rich sound of
the wind instruments enter with a slow melancholy theme. The metronome marking
for this movement is precisely quarter note (crotchet) = 60 making this final
movement 9’ 11’’ long exactly. The ensemble weaves a sonorous, melancholy theme
around the ever ticking wood blocks as lower wind instruments add deep mournful
sonorities. Fairouz varies the textures as the movement progresses and grows
inexorably louder, with xylophone and cymbal clashes joining as the music leads
to a sudden end.
This impressive symphony receives a terrific performance by the
University of Kansas Wind Ensemble.
The recording quality is excellent and there are informative
booklet notes by Paul R. Laird, Professor of Musicology at the University of
Kansas.
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