Philip Glass: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

Though he prefers not to be labeled a 'minimalist' composer, that is the style with which Philip Glass is most associated. His compositions, however, though bearing certain tradmarks, employ a great range of techniques. This adaptive ability contributes to his success as a composer of music ranging from string quartets to largescale orchestral works and mammoth film scores. Marin Alsop conducts her Bournemouth symphony orchestra in these amazing performances of the Second and Third symphonies of legendary American composer Philip Glass. The grand Second Symphony was comissioned by the Brooklyn Acadamy of Music and premiered there in 1994 by Dennis Russell Davies. Also a commissioned work, the Third Symphony is composed for chamber orchestra, and thus bears an intimacy that is brilliantly suited to a smaller ensemble. In both the epically-proportioned Second Symphony and the smaller-scale Third Symphony, Glass returns, in his own way, to his roots at the Juilliard School, writing polyharmonies, rousing finales, and fully-formed symphonic paragraphs. They are true symphonies in scope, structure and seriousness of purpose. Marin Alsop comments on this recording: "Conducting and recording the music of Philip Glass is the completion of a circle for me. I first met Philip Glass in the late 1970s when I started playing violin on some of his recording projects. The new music scene in Manhattan was one of my major inspirations at that time, so working closely with Philip and his ensemble was a dream come true. I had not seen Philip since the mid 1980s until he attended an all Glass concert that I conducted in London. Like his music, it felt like the contuniation of an old friendship, only changed in a simple but profound way."