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Philip Glass ‎– Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective (2008)

Philip Glass ‎– Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective (2008)

BAND/ARTIST: Philip Glass

  • Title: Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective
  • Year Of Release: 2008
  • Label: Nonesuch
  • Genre: minimalism, chamber music
  • Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue,log,scans)
  • Total Time: 11:58:55
  • Total Size: 3.68 GB
  • WebSite:
Philip Glass ‎– Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective (2008)



Glass does not write many short pieces, and to string together an even roughly "complete" edition of his work would be a foolhardy enterprise, given his high level of productivity and the great diversity of offerings he has given us over the years. Glass' own association with Nonesuch began in 1985 with the soundtrack for Mishima, and Nonesuch has kept Glass on the roster ever since, issuing whatever it could afford to, and many highlights have evolved from this fruitful association. Even given the history, Nonesuch has wisely kept the focus in Glass Box on Glass, as the selection -- divided roughly in half between excerpts and complete works -- isn't exclusively drawn from the catalog but also sources recordings from Glass' labels Orange Mountain Music and Chatham Square and even including a bit of Akhenaton on loan from Sony. Orange Mountain is to large extent responsible for the selection, and it is a very well-done job; each disc summarizes Glass' work in a different area and the excerpted discs are carefully sequenced to avoid the feeling of "bleeding chunks."

Glass Box is a surprising thing to see in 2008, given the state of the industry; one would wonder how such a deluxe item could be possible. However, for what it is and contains, Glass Box is really not that expensive; had it been issued on Glass' sixtieth birthday it probably would have cost $50-60 more. Philip Glass is truly fortunate to have made connections throughout his career with visual artists of such caliber as Chuck Close, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Wilson, and Annie Leibovitz; among composers, possibly only Igor Stravinsky has better portraits. You could set Glass Box on the shelf and when you get tired of seeing a given Philip Glass image, you could flip the box around for another: perhaps you could change Glass' portrait with the seasons! Seriously, though, such design is in keeping with the conceptual angle often associated with Glass' music, and does strike a strong consonance between Glass and his close relationship to visual artists. Inside the box, the same degree of quality is observed, with each individual disc boasting a different Chuck Close portrait. The booklet is quite impressive; highlights include a useful and informative essay on the internal development of Glass' style by Keith Potter, and a number of short, heart-warming, and genuinely felt appreciations by Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Robert Wilson, and others.

One concern is the booklet; it is very densely packed and the review copy sent is starting to shed some pages, so it is advised that one take care in handling the book. Glass Box is as close as one is likely to get to a greatest-hits package for Philip Glass and is better in that it does not suffer from the scrappiness of a typical "greatest hits." It is too big to serve as an introduction to his work, but as a career summary Glass Box is ideal, hits the high points, and is concise at 10 discs. It is worth every penny.



Tracklist:

CD 1: Early Works (1969-70)

01. Music In Contrary Motion (1969)

Philip Glass, electric organ

02. Music With Changing Parts (1970) (Edited)

Philip Glass, electric organ, alto flute
Barbara Benary, electric violin, voice
Steve Chambers, electric organ
Jon Gibson, electric organ, soprano saxophone, flute, voice
Dickie Landry, soprano and tenor saxophones, piccolo, flute, voice
Kurt Munkacsi, engineer, electronics
Arthur Murphy, electric piano
Robert Prado, trumpet, flute, voice
03. Music In Similar Motion (1969)

Philip Glass, Steve Chambers, Art Murphy, electric organs
Jon Gibson, Dickie Landry, soprano saxophones
Robert Prado, flute
Kurt Munkacsi, engineer, electronics

CD 2: From Music In Twelve Parts (1971-74)

01. Part VII
02. Part VIII
03. Part IX
04. Part X

The Philip Glass Ensemble
Michael Riesman, musical director, keyboards
Lisa Bielawa, voice
Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, flute
Philip Glass, keyboards
Martin Goldray, keyboards
Richard Peck, alto and tenor saxophones
Andrew Sterman, flute, soprano saxophone

CD 3: From Einstein On The Beach (1976)

01. Knee Play 1
02. Train 1 (Edited)
03. Knee Play 2
04. Knee Play 3
05. Trial 2 / Prison: "Prematurely Air-Conditioned Supermarket" (Edited)
06. Knee Play 4
07. Bed / Prelude
08. Spaceship
09. Knee Play 5

The Philip Glass Ensemble
Michael Riesman, musical director, keyboards
Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, flute
Martin Goldray, keyboards
Kurt Munkacsi, sound design
Richard Peck, alto and tenor saxophones, flute
Andrew Sterman, flute, piccolo, bass clarinet
Gregory Fulkerson, violin
Chorus
Lucinda Childs, Jasper McGruder, Sheryl Sutton, spoken text

CD 4: Glassworks / Analog

From The Orange Mountain Music Archive
01. Opening
02. Facades
03. Floe '87
04. Closing (Live)

From Etoile Polaire (1977)
05. Etoile Polaire
06. River Run
07. Are Years What? (For Marianne Moore)
08. Ange Des Orages
09. Ave
10. Montage

From Dressed Like An Egg (1977)
11. Dressed Like An Egg: Part IV
12. Dressed Like An Egg: Part V

13. Mad Rush For Organ (1979)

With members of the Philip Glass Ensemble and soloists

CD 5: From Satyagraha (1980)

Act I: Tolstoy
01. Scene 1: The Kuru Field Of Justice
02. Scene 2: Tolstoy Farm (1910)

Act II: Tagore
03. Scene 1: Confrontation And Rescue (1896)
04. Scene 3: Protest (1908)

Act III: King
05. Scene 1: Newcastle March (1913) - Part 3: Evening Song

The New York City Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Christopher Keene, conductor

CD 6: From Koyaanisqatsi And Powaqqatsi

From Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
01. Koyaanisqatsi
02. Organic
03. Cloudscape
04. Resource
05. Vessels
06. The Grid

Michael Riesman, conductor
Albert de Ruiter, bass vocal
The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Members of the Philip Glass Ensemble

From Powaqqatsi (1987)
07. Serra Pelada
08. Train To Sao Paulo
09. Video Dream
10. New Cities In Ancient Lands, China
11. New Cities In Ancient Lands, Africa
12. New Cities In Ancient Lands, India
13. Mr. Suso #2 With Reflection
14. Powaqqatsi

CD 7: String Quartets And Piano Etudes (1984-94)

String Quartet No. 2 ("Company") (1984)
01. Movement I
02. Movement II
03. Movement III
04. Movement IV

05. Etude For Piano No. 2 (1994)
06. Etude For Piano No. 9 (1994)

String Quartet No. 5 (1991)
07. Movement I
08. Movement II
09. Movement III
10. Movement IV
11. Movement V

12. Etude For Piano No. 5 (1994)
13. Etude For Piano No. 3 (1994)

String Quartet No. 4 ("Buczak") (1989)
14. Movement I
15. Movement II
16. Movement III

String quartets performed by Kronos Quartet
Etudes for piano performed by Philip Glass

CD 8: From The Civil warS, Hydrogen Jukebox, Symphony No. 5, And Akhnaten

From The Civil warS: Act V—The Rome Section (1983)
01. Prologue

From Hydrogen Jukebox (1990)
02. Song #3: From Iron Horse
03. Song #2: Jaweh And Allah Battle
04. Song #11: From The Green Automobile
05. Song #9: From Nagasaki Days (Numbers in Red Notebook)
06. Song #10: Aunt Rose
07. Song #6: From Wichita Vortex Sutra

From Symphony No. 5 ("Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya") (1999)
08. VII. Suffering (Edited)

From Akhnaten (1983)
09. Act I, Scene 1: Funeral Of Amenhotep III
10. Act I, Scene 3: The Window Of Appearances (Edited)
11. Act III, Scene 4: Epilogue

CD 9: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8

Symphony No. 3 (1995)
01. Movement I
02. Movement II
03. Movement III
04. Movement IV
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

Symphony No. 8 (2005)
05. Movement I
06. Movement II
07. Movement III
Bruckner Orchester Linz
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

CD 10: Filmworks (1984-2002)

Selections From
Mishima (1984)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Anima Mundi (1992)
Candyman (1992)
La Belle Et La Bete (1994)
The Secret Agent (1996)
Kundun (1997)
The Truman Show (1998)
Dracula (1999)
The Fog Of War (2002)
The Hours (2002)

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