Tag Archives: Philip Glass

#AmbientAugust no.22 – Philip Glass: Contrary Motion

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by Ben Hogwood

While it seems a bit strange to label a piece with frenetic keyboard activity as ‘ambient’, this early Philip Glass piece qualifies for that label by its static harmonies and shimmering profile. The effect is rather like looking at fast moving ripples on a pool, which change ever so gradually over time.

Contrary Motion dates from 1969, an early Glass piece that is typically lean and functional – but which adds up to something rather mesmeric. As do the other pieces on this excellent album from Steffen Schleiermacher!

Published post no.2,990 – Saturday 22 August 2026

On this day – the first performance of Philip Glass: Symphony no.8

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by Ben Hogwood Photo of Glass by WNYC New York Public Radio, used from Wikipedia

On this day in 2005, the world premiere of the Symphony no.8 by Philip Glass took place. Generally the symphony has not been a form to fire the imagination of minimalist composers – Steve Reich, for instance, has not written one – but Glass has found a way of integrating symphonic thought and form with subtly repetitive figures.

The Eighth is a more exploratory, chromatic work in three movements, a substantial piece lasting nearly 40 minutes. Here it is with the performers from the premiere, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz conducted by Dennis Russell Davies:

https://open.spotify.com/album/4JXQOm6Imw93JBOsDn48X2

Published post no.2,706 – Sunday 2 November 2025

New music – Vanessa Wagner – Philip Glass: Etude no.8 (InFiné)

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from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Vanessa Wagner continues her exploration of Philip Glass’s piano works with Etude No. 8, released on September 5th.

“Etude No. 8 is one of the most mysterious pieces of the cycle and undoubtedly the most lyrical of Book I. It begins with an ethereal unison between the right and left hands, sounding like a question, a call, and resolves into a phrase with a theme of heartbreaking tenderness. The central section, with its deep basses and 3-against-2 rhythmic sway, carries us into a universe of dark, passionate turmoil before returning to the initial unison—pure and bare, like a moment of renunciation. In just a few minutes, Philip Glass takes us through multiple emotional landscapes, all infused with gentleness, melancholy, and depth.” – Vanessa Wagner

Published post no.2,651 – Monday 8 September 2025

New music – Vanessa Wagner: Philip Glass – Étude no.14 (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood, edited from the press release

Vanessa Wagner has today revealed the next instalment of her forthcoming album release of Philip Glass Etudes, due for release on 13 July from the InFiné label.

“After more than thirty years spent playing, interpreting, and working on the great repertoire, Philip Glass’s music has, in a way, almost revolutionized my life as a musician,” confides Vanessa Wagner.

The label describe how “in Etude no.14, so often filed away as a mere “transitional” study, Wagner uncovers a central engine of Glass’s language: the art of turning motif into living gesture, pattern into emotion, structure into an open-ended form.”

Published post no.2,538 – Tuesday 20 May 2025

On this day – the world premiere of the Violin Concerto no.1 by Philip Glass

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by Ben Hogwood picture (c) Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

On this day in 1987 the premiere of Philip Glass‘ Violin Concerto no.1 took place, played by Paul Zukofsky and with the American Composers Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies.

The piece has established itself as one of Glass’s most popular works in concert, and can be heard below in its first recording, made by Gidon Kremer for Deutsche Grammophon:

Published post no.2,495 – Saturday 5 April 2025