Phillip Glass: Solo Piano (1995)

PICA PORTLAND INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

PRESENTS THE 1995/96 PERFORMANCE SEASON featuring

PHILIP GLASS SOLOPIANO

SOLOPiilO This evenings program consists of music originally composed for solo well as a number of arrangements for organ or instrumental combinations All the music comes from th_ยง period dating from 1976 to the present

piano

as

OPENING [1981] Written

for

Philip

Glass'

first

CBS Masterworks

recording,

Glassworks.

WITCHITA VORTEX SUTRA [1988] Written became

t o accompany readings

by Allen a part of Hydrogen Jukebox.

Ginsberg,

this

piece

later

THREE ETUDES [ 1994] Composed his 50th

for conductor birthday.

Dennis

Russell

Davies

on the

occasion

of

MAD RUSH [1980] Commissioned

by Radio Bremen, Lucinda Childs choreographed after its premiere.

originally composed a solo dance to this

for organ. piece shortly

THE FOURTH KNEE PLAY [1976] From Einstein on the Beach, chorus and solo violin.

this

piece

was

orig inally

performed

by

FIVE METAMORPHOSES [1989] A set

of five piano pieces, some of them written for A Thin Blue a film

by Errol Morris, and others written for a staging of Metamorphoses

by Gerald Thomas and performed in Sao Paolo, Kafka's Brazil

Line,

This evenings program runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. There will be one 15 minute intermission.

PHILIP GLASS Bqrne in Baltimore, Philip Glass discovered music in his father's radio repair shop.

In addition to servicing radios, Ben Glass carried - a line of records and, when certain ones sold poorly, he would take them home and play them for his three children, trying to discover why they didn~t appeal to customers.

These happened to be recordings of the great chamber works, and the future composer rapidly became familiar quartets, Schubert with Beethoven symphonies and other music then considered sonaias, Shostakovich 'offbeat'.

It was not until he was in his upper teens did Glass begin to encounter more 'standard' classics.

Glass began the violin at six and became serious about music when he took up the flute at eight.

But by the time he was 15, he had become frustrated with the limited flute repertory as well as with musical life in post - war Baltimore.

During his second year at high school, he applied for admission to the University of Chicago, passed and, with his parents' encouragement, moved to Chicago where he s~pported jobs waiting himsel _f with part-time tables and loading ~irplanes 1t airports.

He majored in mathematics and philosophy, ·and in off hours practiced piano and concenon such compo~ers as ' Ives .and Webern. trafed of Chicago and. deterg'r 'aduated - frotn the · University At 19. Glass mined to become a composer; moved to New York and . attended the Juilliard School. by . the 'n he ·. had abandoned the 12 -tone . techniques he had been usirig in . Chicago ·.and preferred American composers like Aaron Copeland ·. and Willi:am Schuman _. by the time he was _ 21, Glass had studied with Vincent Persichetti, Darius Milhaud and Wiiliam Bergsma.

He had rejected serialism and preferred such maverick composers as Harry Partch, Ives, Moondog, Henrj Cowell, Virgil Thomion, but he still had not found his own ~e moved to P~ris and had two years voice.

Still searching, of intensive study under Nad~a Boulanger. he was hired In Patis, by a film-maker to transcribe the Indian music: of .Ravi Shanker into notation -readable

by French musicians, of Indian music. and irr the process, discovered the techniqu~s Glass promp~ly renounced his pre~ious music and, after researching music in North Africa, India and the Himalayas, returned to New York and began applying Ea~tern techniques to his own work: By 1974,

he had

composed

a large

collection

of

new music,

much of CONT.NEXTPAGE

it for use by the t h eater company Mabou Mines (Glass was one of the co fo u nders of that company) and most of it composed for his own performi n g group the Philip Glass Ensemble This period cul minated in Music in 12 parts, a 4 hour summation of Gl ass new music , and reached their apogee in 1976 with Philip Glass/Ro b ert Wilson opera Einstein on the Beach the 4 1/2 hour epic n ow seen as a landmark in 20th Century music thea t er Glass output since Einstein has r anged from opera Satyagraha , Akhnaten , The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Juniper Tree, Hydrogen Jukebox , t o film scores Koyaanisqatsi, Michima, The Thin Blue Line, Powaqqatsi, A Brief History of Time to symphonic works The Light, Itaipu, The Violin Concerto, Low , to string quartets No's 2-5 reco r ded by the Kronos Quartet He has created music for dance A Descent into the Maelstrom for Molissa Fenley In the Upper Room fo r Twy l a Tharp and such unc l assifiable theater pieces as The Photographer, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof and The Mysteries And What's So Funny ?

Among his recently completed commis works are The Voyage sioned by the Metro p olitan Orphee , a chamber Opera, opera based on the film by Jean Cocteau , the 2nd Sy mph o ny , commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, and the 3rd Sy mphony, pre miered by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

Current projects include a new composition for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet two collaborations with Robert Wilson Monsters of Grace and White Ra v en , The Witches of Venice a new ballet created

by Be n i Montressor and commissioned

by Teatro alla Scala, an d the third and fina l piece i n his Cocteau trilogy a d ance the ater work with cho r eographe r Susan Marsha l l , based on the film Les Enfants Terribles

J

J

i I

j

QUIOlt•otES LA BELLE ET LA BE'ITE: "A new form of musical

...

this

work should

not be missed"

"A beautiful. superbly integrated work ... This is Glass· best works in years ... Remarkable not only in conception but i!lso in execution, brimming with freshets of melody and singing with a W~gnerian power ....

Michael Walsh, TIMEMagazine POWAQQATSI: "The score may be Mr. Glass' best work of the decade, dreamy ascending currents of third world percussion and elegiac harmony."

Jon Pareles, The NewYork Times

and descending

scales

meet cross-

KOYAANISQATSI: "A multimedia match made in heaven!

The most astounding the pleasure of experiencing."

TorrmCaroll, Santa Monica Evening Outlook

and intense

mixture

of sound and vision

I've

had

PHILIP GLASSENSEMBLE: "Extraordinary artistry that

technical skill, the sense of ensemble comes from devotion to the cause."

Tim Smith Ft. LauderdaleNews

that

comes from years

of performin~

togethe~

and the

MUSICIN 12 PARTS: "This is radical miss it:." ·

and important

music and nobody with

an interest

in intellectual

life

of our times

should

Tim Page NewYork Newsday

EINSTEINON THE BEACH: "A masterpiece

... experiences

to cherish

for

John Rockwell The NewYork Times

a lifetime."

SATYAGRAHA: "A work of great and austere beauty, one that cannot fail plicity of its means and the timelessness of its subject.

to move the receptive viewer by the radiant simIts arrival in Chicago is cause for rejoicing."

John von Rhein Chicago Tribune AKHNATEN:

r.. ''Akhdnatden. d.. isl

l

theater

EdwardRothstein, The NewYork Times

an

very beautiful, informed with theater pieces of our time."

Tim Page NewYork Newsday

in ivi

a marked spiri tua1

intensity

.. . one of the most distinctive

ua

LOWSYMPHONY: "At the end of the concert played by the ,Brooklyn Philharmonic 6r"chestra ... that rocker of many roles, David Bowie joined the Minimalist composer Philip Glass on stage, to the acclaim of a standing ovation.

The occasion was the unveiling of a new stylistic persona for Mr .Glass, heard in the haunting and of Low Symphony . .. .accomplished and fascinating." enchanting strains EdwardRothstein NewYork Times

THE SECONDSYMPHONY: " . . . a score both tender and ·powerful. muscular · ye~· capable Western sense.

It is both pure Glass and remarkably close Peter GoodmanNew York- Newsday

of delicacy, expressive in a traditional to the European tradition he once rejected

. ...

PICA (Portland

Institute

for Contemporary Arl)

is dedicated to advancing significant develop ments in contemporary art by providing resources which engage audiences in creative and critical dialogue and empower artists and arts professionals to create challenging new work Through exhibitions, residency opportunities and educational forums PICA's programming focuses on the current trends and aesthetic concerns in contemporary art by exploring the work of visual and performance based artists who have emerged nationally internationally or regionally Through shows which support experimental new art and those which strive to examine art his torical sociopolitical cultural or philosophi cal contexts, PICA's programming strives to expand our knowledge of what is current and pos sible in contemporary art

PERFORllAJrCE 95/96 As part of our exhibition program, PICA is pleased to announce our inaugural performance series which takes place in a diverse array of venues throughout Portland and features the work of some of today's most compelling artists working along the boundaries of performance art, experimental theatre, contemporary dance and new music The season is curated

by Kristy Edmunds

DISOOGliPHY Akhnaten Anima Mundi La Belle et la Bete Dance Nos. 1-3 Dance Nos. 1-5 Dance Pieces Einstein on the Beach Einstein on the Beach The Essential Glass Glassworks Glass Organ Works Hydrogen Jukebox In Good Company Itaipu Koyaanisqatsi Kronos Quartet Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass Low Symphony Mishima Motion/ Music in Similar Music in Fifths Music in Twelve Parts Music in Twelve Parts Music with Changing Parts North Star 1000 Airplanes on the Roof Passages The Photographer Piano Two Platinum Powaqqatsi Satyagraha Satyagraha The Screens Solo Piano Solo Piano Songs from Liquid Days Songs from the Trilogy Strung Out for Amplified Violin · The Official Music of the XXIIIi::d Olymp:i,ad The Thin Blue Line Two Pages ...

Violin Concerto

Sony Mast~rworks M2K 42457 79239-2 Nonesuch Nonesuch 79347 _i ,f}, :/ ,-..

Tomato Records ..TOM,.t;lQ~~ :-~>-~\:,:.

Sony Masterworks M2K 447~5 · MK 39539 Sony Masterworks Sony Masterworks . M4K 388) 5 Nonesuch 19323°2 · Sony Masterworks . SK 64133 MK 3726SSony Masterworks Catalyst 09026618252 Nonesuch 7932B~-2 · Music 434873-2 · Point SK 46352 Sony Masterworks Antilles/Isla~d 422 ~8!4042~1 · Nonesuch 79111 : 1 Nonesuch 79356 · Point Music 438 150"2 Nonesuch j9113 ; 2· Chatham Square 1'003 80):78995 Virgin/ventur~ Virgin 91311 ° Z" Nonesuch 79325-2 Virgin V2085 Virgin 91Q65"2 Private Music 2074-2 : ~ Sony Masterwor .ks MK· 37849 Private Music 2027 - 1-P Virgin V2l j l . . \ Nonesuch 79113-2 Sony Masterworks lJM - 39672 Sony Maste r works 1:f3K ·39672Point Music 4'32_96_62 .

Shandar 8 3 515 MK 45576 Sony Masteirwor:ks .

Sony Maste _rworks .· MK 39564 Sony Masti:!rworks '· MK 45-580 · · .,. .,. · ' Music

Obser ~ ~.t io _ri}; CP2 ·...:..:

CBS Recor-d 's 7464.:39-_:322-l Nonesuch 79209 : 2 Nonesuch Deutsche ;Gr?m _op_hone . 43-'l

·19.3 ·~~-_2:. . .

;,

... --::

!'01111>Ill'G .illVOOilES { $500+)

Barney & Worth Inc Bill Boese Megan Brooke & Peter Schoonmaker Marjorie & Jack Butler Israel Bruce Carey & Chr istopher Doug & Selby Key Sally Lawrence Alex & Laura Paul Shawn Roeser Westfield

•• •• •• ••

STEPHANIE SKURA/CRANKY DESTROYERS (Dec. 5-8) Imag o Th e atr e 8 OOpm t ix $ 14

!'01111>IIGOOIITRIBUTORS { $100+)

Lois Allan Allied Works Architecture PC Erin Boberg David Browning & Kay Altman Thom & Deb Brzoska Kathy Budas Bijou Cafe BonaKeane Decorative Arts Circle Triangle Square Glenn Clevenger Columbia Artists Management Inc Conduit Nan Curtis Lisa Elorriaga-Czysz William & Diana Deshler Ken DuBois Yalcin Erhan Frame Works Kay Fr ench Bill & Carol Foster Wendy Geisler Kit Gillem & Deborah Horrell Marnie Glickman Linda Greenberg Myrthle Griffin Laura Guimond Jo Gentry Haemer Susan Harlan Pat & Kelley Harr ington Carol Heppe r Edward Bell & Carrie Hoops International Production Assoc Charles E Johnson Michelle Kantor Tesuya & Lynn Katsumo t o Jenny Lakeman Eloise MacMurray Thomas McFadden Pau l Ar ens Meyer Mark Mur phy Mary Oslund Judy & Mark Pete r man Paris i & Parisi Yariv Rabinovitch Pruden ce Roberts Sarah Severn Cher yl Snow Sunwest Graphics Joel Wei nstei n M. Wein stein David Wellman & Andy Robinson Carolyn Wood & Rose Bond J en Yeh & Susan Fill i n Yeh Kathe ri ne Young

PURGATORIO INK "something Recklessl y Gay" or Cirque de CaCa (Jan. 22-24) Clint on St Theatr e 8 OOpm tix $14

RINDE ECKERT "The Idiot Variations" (Feb. 22-24)

•

Ec h o Thea t r e 8 OOpm tix $14

ELIZABETH STREB/RINGSIDE "PopACTION" (Apr. 6) Cabell

•

Catlin Gable / Center Theatre 8 OOpm tix $17

PS 122 FIELD TRIPS (Apr.

24-25)

Catlin Gable / Cabell Center Theatre 8:00p m tix $14

DONNAUCHIZONO "The Ivy Project" (May 16-18) Ec h o Theatre 8:00p m tix $14