Philip Glass makes life worthwhile. Better than a teenage girl and more awesome than any other composer, he looks like a mere mortal. That to me is the greatest wonder about him.
When I was speaking with Philip during this video, I had no idea he was recording his side only of the conversation. Dirty rascal. But I still love you, Phil.
y'know, i used to think that the fast organ notes on his recordings must've been quantized on a computer, but on this video i see that this is not the case. i guess his hands are just machines.
I have no doubt that Mr. Glass is both a qualified and competent composer. I will just say that I think his direction in music is the latest step in a long march in the wrong direction. There are people who will violently disagree with me, of course; but this is just the latest ostinato-based harmony-based music, but now with even an absence of developed or developing melody. Melody => organum => counterpoint (from whence harmony) => Florid (Baroque, height of music) => melody => harmony.
I realise that my phrase "Baroque, height of music", will alone draw the ire of many. But I always tend to think that melody is the most fundamental element of music, and counterpoint as the most worthy and expressive style. I call Baroque "florid", however, since there is justification for the use of ostinato and plain harmony in some instances, and the Baroque style is able seamlessly to interweave this with highly refined and developed counterpoint. Hence, it is the height of music.
Now, rightly you may ask what qualification in the world I have for making these statements. Some may even click on my channel and listen to my sparse and underdeveloped compositions. The answer is, I have no credentials, nor even the legacy of successful composition, to justify this statement. The latter is something I'm working on; I'm still young and new at this art. Nevertheless, these statements are the result of my premeditation as to how I ought to write music, since I would do so.
@3510211 tempo could be called more fundamental than rhythm..? not trying to waste your tempo sorry there you were calling my comment stupid right ? i read melody maybe i am confused ?
"has to learn it" - really? this piece is not really that different from metamorphosis 2 or many of the pieces from 'thin blue line." no disrespect. his music is great but he's been recycling the same pieces for some time. i thought the academy awards only gave out awards for new scores. did they pay attention to his previous work?
could anyone shine some light on where mr glass lives? where exactly in queens (ok, for the obvious reason, i am not asking for the exact location and will certainly not go to knock on his door), ignore this msg if you think it's idiotic or call me an idiot, or, just write a msg to me n tell me, i am an admirer n respect him.
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whoa, lol, the god failed at his own piece XD , only some slight little mistakes and played too fast a bit. At least, thats my opinion, dont hate me for that.
Less is more. Only a genius can do this. Maybe It's true glass music is simple (or really not because he uses polyritmical patterns in a very smart way) but is a very atmospheric music. The idea is to listen still another dimensional world opens in your mind. Try it it's marevolous.
QuantPlus is quite correct, Glass does know what he is playing! He also used this (painfully beautiful) theme in "The Thin Blue Line" to great effect. The theme appears elsewhere too.
I prefer not to use the term "Minimalist". Glass himself used the phrase "Repetitive Structures" which is much closer. Thanks for posting.
What's wrong with saying it's minimalist? I think if you can analyse a piece in less than a paragraph, then you have a minimalist piece. I don't think Glass really knows what to call his music, as I've heard him complain that the music "actually repeats very little", which would make the phrase "repetitive structures" a little misleading and contradictory.
The funny thing about everybody that complains about his "minimalist" style is that...
...they could never pull it off no matter how hard they tried. He's like a painter that can draw a perfect circle in a single stroke, you can TRY to do it yourself, but you'll likely fail. Such is genius.
the thing bout his music though, is that even though it is minamalist it's still enjoyable to listen too. the perfect circle thingy, even though it crazy hard, isn't that great of a peice to look at.
Arguing about whether Glass is good or bad is plain stupid in my opinion.
People have different tastes and it's their right to like or dislike what Glass does. I play the piano and study music, and I like some of Glass's music.Not all though.
It amazes me when someone comes here claiming to know something about music while trying co convince others that Glass is pure trash. I have an advice for these kinds of ppl: Go flush yourselves. If you don't like Glass, go and listen to something else.
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What I don't get is why, in a country that has produced so many great composers (Carter, Wuorinen, Sessions, Babbitt, Ornstein and Perle to name a few), can the country's people be so short-sighted in recognizing them, and instead choosing sell-outs like Glass, Adams and Reich who churn out the same crap every year and never deviating from the most simplistic ideas.
Because Glass composes beautiful music, as do the others!
and of course Glass' music is minimal - he virtually started the whole movement! and this is obviously a reason to stick with it throughout your career making beautiful music you love to both play and listen to.
Oh, and complicated music isn't always the nicest to listen to, simple ideas are sometimes the best ones.
I dont understand why people complain so much about philip glass, its one thing to not like it thats personal but to feel the need to call him talentless and a hack is wrong, music is about rules or how difficult it is. Its about how it sounds, an art which makes it something that should not be constricted by the so called "rules" of these elitist snobs!!! more people need to realise this and begin to enjoy music for what it is.
love hate thing with me and phillip glass. some of his pieces are exquisite from start to finish. some of his pieces annoy me because they take an abrupt turn in tempo, mood, and melody. sometimes the crescendos can be excessively prolonged and build to a blaring pitch that makes me wince.
but it's all worth it for some of the treasures he has composed that completely swept away my imagination, heart and soul.
caught his live performance of koyanis... in toronto in the 80's. perfection.
Steve Reich does it better imo, but I'm surprised at all the Philip Glass hate. He has made a sizable contribution to contemporary compositional technique with his work on minimalism. The dude's no lightweight. Go listen to Einstein on the Beach if you're not familiar with it.
im not much of a fan of philip glass, but the monoty of his themes create a certain sutil intensity of emotion. he is not talentles but he sticks with the easy stuff and musicaly justifies it. its called minimalism, and there are other great composers that follow this genre. its quite interesting
I agree. it does have a certain subtle intensity of emotion - unquote, and one which can send the listener from 0 to manic depressive in about 15 minutes if your not careful. Accordingly I very much pace myself when it comes to Glass.
What is interesting is that this video has been viewed 63,646 times, and rated 145 times. that means only 1 in every 435 viewers rate it.
I wonder why?
Could be because Philip Glass's compositions are basically not worth rating? and that his followers consist primarily of the deaf, the insane, and the musically impotent?
perhaps so..
Then again perhaps not. Now please excuse me while I go and take my medicine...
Do you even know what minimalism is? Philip Glass had about 8 years of complex musical compositions for orchestra, but he threw them out, and decided that he would create music on the basis of modulating rhythm not harmony.
Minimalism is usually just an ostinato or two being repeated and slightly modulated so through the beginning of the piece and end of the piece shows some rhythmic development, maybe carry a simple melody through, maybe even basic harmony.
I'm not that big of Glass fan, btw, but I do enjoy Riley and others who play minimalism, just wanted to let you know, minimalism isn't just "easy music." It can get overly complicated and pretty hard. Listen to "A Rainbow in Curved Air" by Terry Riley, or "Phrygian Gates" by Adams.
You are definitely right about Adams' Phrygian Gates- it's not the fact that one would have to play that piece for over 20 minutes, but its the minute rhythmic details that Adams put in that is easily overlooked.
Minimalism is not just an ostinato, or a repetetive arpeggio. Phillip Glass, knows what he is doing i am not questioning his musicianship. Minimalism runs on the basic frase: less is more. That can mean anything, with a simple element an amalgama of resources and development rises and becomes a piece or whatever, for example, Reich and Glass Minimalism is actually very enjoyable for people that do not have much musical knowledge, because it is simple, that does not mean it is bad music
It takes more genius to take out all the superfluous elements of a composition. "Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall." These two sentences embody perfection, for me. A sure way to avoid perfection is to add unnecessary complications. Philip Glass gets this, you, however, do not. Stating that people who like minimalism do so because they are ignorant to music theory or whatever, is a very misinformed opinion to have.
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Well going by that way of thinking, you could extend it to; Why talk in full sentences, why use words that have more than 3 letters in them etc. etc. That logic is incredibly anti-intellectual. Glass fans tend to know very little about music, that's a general fact I've found. I truly believe this is dumb music for dumb audiences who have given up on trying to appreciate more intellectually demanding music because it doesn't satisfy them on the Glass-level of simplified garbage.
It isn't the intellect behind the piece which is important it is how it effects the audience. I admit I know very little about Music but that isn't to say I do not appreciate it or haven't listened to 'intellectual' music.
Simplified music isn't a crime nor should it be frowned upon. In trying to complicate things we sometimes forget the raw beauty of music. The repeative structure Glass creates hypnotises and lures. You probably can only properly enjoy it if you don't know anything behind it.
The problem is, though, that this is all he has ever done. It's not like he started off writing this stuff and then went "okay, enough is enough" and started writing in a more progressive style. His works have evolved very little over the past 40 years, yet I can think of tons of more worthwhile composers who manage to write in a new style with each new piece, or at least in the span of 5 years or so. Of course, these guys are the ones nobody ever hears about or pays attention to.
Touche. Very good points. I can't dispute the fact that not all talented composers make it into the lime light. Heres hoping they are good inspiration to other composers. Glass may have just found something that works and was perhaps afraid to bring it to the next level. We'll never know.
I enjoyed your straw man argument. However, the straw man is an informal fallacy of symbolic logic. Look it up. Although, I do agree with your sentiments. Why make language more complicated than it has to be? Why speak a sentence of 20 words if you can preserve the meaning in, say, 7 words? Oh wait, we do that all the time. Go look up the definition of any word and you will find that takes more than one word to define another word. Nobody likes a music snob, ya know.
In my argument, I was referring to people's abbreviation of words- for example; "i enjyd yr strw man argmnt". Would you apply for a job or something using such idiotic means? I wouldn't. I don't believe Glass communicates anything of worth in his music. To communicate successfully, one must realize the full potential of language and what it can do. I doubt any of his string quartets, piano music or symphonies, for example, arouse the same life-changing feelings as Scriabin or Bartòk have done.
I for one could hardly disagree with your stance more, sequenzaVII. There is nothing even resembling abbreviation in Glass' music, or minimalism in general. Quite the opposite. Every idea is explored to a microscopic level. Furthermore, comparing the work of Glass to Bartok is like arguing that penicillin has had less impact on society that the light bulb. Both are important developments that came from totally different places. Glass communicates volumes, and changed my life for sure.
Yes, Glass and Bartok were important in their respective fields. Yet, in concerts, Glass's music gets played side by side with composers more associated with the classical tradition. But I agree, let's not compare apples and oranges. Glass is a populist, narrow-minded composer and Bartòk was a craftsman of genius.
Glass fans tend to know very little about music? Try telling that to the scholars who have written extensively on the subject of Minimalist Art and Music!
By the fact that despite the use of 'minimal material' from which processes then develop, there is the issue of HOW these process develop; furthermore, of the performance issues involved and more crucially, of response. Despite the almost static development, the process themselves are complex, in part, not sytematic and rythmically very difficult to perform. Then there is the issue of psycho-acoustic phenomena and the wealth of different listening experiences which minimalist music engenders.
It takes more genius to take out all the superfluous elements of a composition. "Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall." These two sentences embody perfection, for me. A sure way to avoid perfection is to add unnecessary complications. Philip Glass gets this, you, however, do not. Stating that people who like minimalism do so because they are ignorant to music theory or whatever, is a very misinformed opinion to have.
Ah. I see people do not appreciate the music of Philip Glass himself. Modern genius: I would think so. His repetitive structures may not be favourable among many modern "critics" however, I much prefer Glass to composers such as Schoenberg for example who favour atonalism.
And to conclude, in the words of Glass himself: "If you don't like my music, don't listen to it. There's the Beatles, there's Mozart; if you don't like it, listen to something else. I don't care."
I just love Glass' music. I know he studied Bach and Beethoven, but I've always wondered: ¿what Glass thinks about Erik Satie music? Most people would say I'm crazy by comparing them, but I believe both composers tend to the repetitive sequences in their music. As a very amateur piano player I am, really love both Glass and Satie music. I just thank life for giving me the chance of sharing this land with Glass.
people are way too accommodated. And the level of superficiality is gigantic. The result is what you see on YT and elsewhere: when some pathetic, mediocre arpeggios are composed by someone who self proclaimed to be "an emotional composer versus the intellectual ones", people applaud this shallowness as if it were the ultimate breath of human creativity. The whole thing is utterly pathetic.
Pieces by Glass hold a simplistic beauty, and sound ever so easy to play: however the theory behind the composition is quite outstanding. He has a brilliant ear for chord changes, and for individual note harmonies.
Let's take his "Opening" from his album "Glassworks" as first example, because I can play it.
The first chords seem simple enough: an Fm with the 3rd and 5th repeated under the 1st and 3rd degrees also repeated (however, these are played as duple eighth notes under triplet eighth notes). The top note the changes to the 5th degree. Glass then moves down in the left hand to an Eb chord (7th degree of the Fm scale) with the 3rd and 5th being played in duple time.
Thank you! In art and life, simple beauty is delivered only when the skills are perfectfully trained. That arpeggio is like running water (and in fact in The Hours it is related to the river), and, just like in clear water, the slightest impurity is immediately spotted.
In simplicity even the slightest mistake is highlighted, so that the performer must have all the qualities at his best not to fail.
And sure you'll get through, as you are able to SEE. Props to you and best wishes!
how anyone could listen to this and not be moved i cannot understand
his music always evokes such intense emotion from within me, and my entire body swells with the music that never fails to combine sadness, happiness, loneliness, turmoil, hope.
it's incredible, and to me, the fact that he can create so many nuances with such few notes is a miracle and a gift to the music world.
"...they have to practise playing what they have composed"
This isn't actually true. When I compose, I don't always sit down and play what I've written. That's why performers need not be composers, and vice versa. Your comment is practically the same as claiming that a composer should be able to play every instrument for which he writes, which I'm sure you can understand is a ridiculous thing to assume
Not only that... What i meant saying 'the sensibility in playing etc' is:I think to EXPRESS the sensibility in the right touch and timing, that is: to ACTUALLY convey the inner sensibility in action, IS a technical matter, too. And not at all simple.
That's not a technical aspect of the performance. That's an emotional aspect. Many composers have composed songs with both of those ideas, take Brahms first piano concerto. Not only is it hard to play, but emotionally difficult. Philip Glass hasn't affected music in the slightest way. In a hundred years, no one will care about Minimalism.
No, they would agree. So would Debussy Satie or Ravel on topics of impressionism. They attempt to aviod genres, but continue writing in a stylistic form. If anythings it's obnoxious, seeing this guys deny their music roots, then write symphonies in that style. Please, someone explain to me what minimilism does in the 20th and 21th century that hasn't been done before. It's still a mystery to me...
His music has definitely had an effect on the music of today. Much of it would most likely be considered low brow, such as the explosion of minimal techno, but such distinctions are the realm of pompous assholes. I think the goals and emotions surrounding minimalism are changing and therefore there is still new ground to explore.
Harmonically or melodically, how is this "minimal techno" different from minimalism? There is no difference. There are no "emotions" surrounding minimalism or "goals." Music is music. From a academic standpoint, minimalism is anachronistic and doesn't push music forward. Have you even analyized this stuff? Have you studied the score? No, you just listen to Philip babble about consumerism, then you think it somehow relates to the music. It doesn't. Learn to get over Wagnerian tricks...
Haha, Thats exactly what my friend said when we watched this on DVD!! I noticed he had a VHS player too! I'm glad I'm not the only VHS-using person left :P
omg its him! ive had the priviledge of meeting him..... twice. seen many live concerts.... where the movie plays and he and his orchestra play live with it. i love him! What an artist. what a genius
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i also find it very dodgy that someone would make a mistake while playing their own piece.. and i agree that it's one of the metamorphoses, i'm sure glass would know that..
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The image of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama prostrating himself before Mr. Glass is an obvious fake. We are likely dealing with a conspiracy much larger, and more sinister, than we imagined. Playing the audio track backwards would likely reveal hidden messages and yield more clues.
On another note, this is Philip Glass, however I am confused as to why he says Metamorphosis II is from the Hours. Metamorphosis I-V was written in 1988 whereas The Hours was released in 2002. The discrepancy is something to wonder about.
No it is Metamorphosis II and it is from 'The Hours' only it is an orchestrated version on the soundtrack the piece is called 'Escape!' so the description box was right all along..
This piece is also used in the end credits of "the thin blue line". Its not really a discrepancy; the film makers temped. the first cuts of The Hours with prerecorded glass music. After hiring a (or two?) composers, they didn't like that they were doing, and decided to get Philip (or nico muhley) to reorchestrate the pieces they used in the temp track... so bascially, almost all of the music from the hours is rerecorded, reorchestrated old Glass music. Trickey, eh?
metamorphosis was the original. He reworked his old piece for the Hours, many many years later. I don't really think any real thought needs to be made about it, it's kind of obvious.
You know what?...i'm starting to believe that he's not mr. Glass,is he is indeed Arsen Dedic he leaves clues about it,changing the name of the composition he was going to play and in 1:17 he has a mistake and re-starts that melody...mmmmm i begin to think: "conspiracy" ;)
I've just looked at some pictures of Arsen Dedic, but he lookes more like Roy Orbinson. :D I can't imagine that he would be able te get away with impersonating Philip Glass?? 8-| But maybe when he was younger? ;)
They aren't actually saying that this is New York, but that Philip Glass has his roots in the experimental underground music of New York in the seventies.
I really hope this is the one and only, authentic, Philip Glass, he is very nice and relaxed here, and I have heard otherwise.
i have compared live "DBRphilip glass performing" with this and the "Glass" in each appears to be wearing the same shirt but to have different styles and the"Glass" on stage is wearing eyeglasses and the "Glass" as home is not. I tend to agree with MOttONE.
Philip Glass makes life worthwhile. Better than a teenage girl and more awesome than any other composer, he looks like a mere mortal. That to me is the greatest wonder about him.
JosephHuntington 4 months ago
wtf? 3:14
darkmusentertainment 9 months ago 5
Oh.. he has huge hands .. !
Is it typical for pianist to 'catch' an octave using his index and his little finger ?!
Earaem 1 year ago
When I was speaking with Philip during this video, I had no idea he was recording his side only of the conversation. Dirty rascal. But I still love you, Phil.
PaulGiffs 1 year ago
how cool would it be to live next door to him and always get to hear him play?
nathanowsley 1 year ago 2
how badass would it be to live next door to him and always get to hear him play?
nathanowsley 1 year ago 2
this song is one of my favorites, this guy is a genius and is one of the best modern day pianists
XChorusofAngelsX 1 year ago
Glass has eclipsed Einstein, and is closing in on Bernini now.
SnoozeButton57 1 year ago
y'know, i used to think that the fast organ notes on his recordings must've been quantized on a computer, but on this video i see that this is not the case. i guess his hands are just machines.
DillonDemas 1 year ago
Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's there? Knock knock, who's.. PHILIP GLASS
ShittiestChannelOnYT 1 year ago 3
I have no doubt that Mr. Glass is both a qualified and competent composer. I will just say that I think his direction in music is the latest step in a long march in the wrong direction. There are people who will violently disagree with me, of course; but this is just the latest ostinato-based harmony-based music, but now with even an absence of developed or developing melody. Melody => organum => counterpoint (from whence harmony) => Florid (Baroque, height of music) => melody => harmony.
NihilNominis 1 year ago
I realise that my phrase "Baroque, height of music", will alone draw the ire of many. But I always tend to think that melody is the most fundamental element of music, and counterpoint as the most worthy and expressive style. I call Baroque "florid", however, since there is justification for the use of ostinato and plain harmony in some instances, and the Baroque style is able seamlessly to interweave this with highly refined and developed counterpoint. Hence, it is the height of music.
NihilNominis 1 year ago
Now, rightly you may ask what qualification in the world I have for making these statements. Some may even click on my channel and listen to my sparse and underdeveloped compositions. The answer is, I have no credentials, nor even the legacy of successful composition, to justify this statement. The latter is something I'm working on; I'm still young and new at this art. Nevertheless, these statements are the result of my premeditation as to how I ought to write music, since I would do so.
NihilNominis 1 year ago
@NihilNominis how is melody more fundamental than rhythm? can you play a melody without time or something? don't get all proper on me.
rectangle12341 1 year ago
@rectangle12341 I think he means tempo? Stupid comment
3510211 1 year ago
@3510211 tempo could be called more fundamental than rhythm..? not trying to waste your tempo sorry there you were calling my comment stupid right ? i read melody maybe i am confused ?
rectangle12341 1 year ago
@rectangle12341 I meant his comment was stupid and no tempo isnt more fundamental
3510211 1 year ago
Was that a mistake around 1:20??? NOOOOOO! Philip Glass can't do wrong. must be intentional.
Orlymusicboy 1 year ago
"has to learn it" - really? this piece is not really that different from metamorphosis 2 or many of the pieces from 'thin blue line." no disrespect. his music is great but he's been recycling the same pieces for some time. i thought the academy awards only gave out awards for new scores. did they pay attention to his previous work?
starsofthelid 1 year ago
"....One of the founders of REPETITIVE music". You betcha!
His own language? How many syllables?
Mrphilharmonic 1 year ago
Hi is this a clip from a larger documentary about Glass? If so can someone please tell me the name? Thanks.
8BlueSkies 1 year ago
@8BlueSkies It's called "Looking Glass" and is available on DVD. Around 70 minutes or so, plus some extras.
lawford83 1 year ago
Thank you!
8BlueSkies 1 year ago
could anyone shine some light on where mr glass lives? where exactly in queens (ok, for the obvious reason, i am not asking for the exact location and will certainly not go to knock on his door), ignore this msg if you think it's idiotic or call me an idiot, or, just write a msg to me n tell me, i am an admirer n respect him.
transformismism 1 year ago
aaargh, I hate my speakers.
missbehemoth 2 years ago
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whoa, lol, the god failed at his own piece XD , only some slight little mistakes and played too fast a bit. At least, thats my opinion, dont hate me for that.
akatsukiandy 2 years ago
do you know really pianist,never play his own piece the same?
ESTRELLITATURQUESA 2 years ago
Less is more. Only a genius can do this. Maybe It's true glass music is simple (or really not because he uses polyritmical patterns in a very smart way) but is a very atmospheric music. The idea is to listen still another dimensional world opens in your mind. Try it it's marevolous.
amusicianinparis 2 years ago
very well put. Music doesn't have to be intricate & complicated to be beautiful
interpol242 2 years ago
It doesn't matter what you call it. It is very moving.
mandyinseattle 2 years ago
IDOLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
MagoLerio 2 years ago
"Einstein on the piano."
- Jedediah Bartman
PennnSmith 2 years ago 3
At least you are getting some enjoyment from it then
clemencie 2 years ago 2
QuantPlus is quite correct, Glass does know what he is playing! He also used this (painfully beautiful) theme in "The Thin Blue Line" to great effect. The theme appears elsewhere too.
I prefer not to use the term "Minimalist". Glass himself used the phrase "Repetitive Structures" which is much closer. Thanks for posting.
clemencie 2 years ago 11
What's wrong with saying it's minimalist? I think if you can analyse a piece in less than a paragraph, then you have a minimalist piece. I don't think Glass really knows what to call his music, as I've heard him complain that the music "actually repeats very little", which would make the phrase "repetitive structures" a little misleading and contradictory.
sequenzaVII 2 years ago
sequenzaV11
Best listen to something else then.
clemencie 2 years ago
Some 'structures' (ostinati) are repetitive indeed, but the music doesn't have necessarily to be.
eltrevoso 2 years ago
The funny thing about everybody that complains about his "minimalist" style is that...
...they could never pull it off no matter how hard they tried. He's like a painter that can draw a perfect circle in a single stroke, you can TRY to do it yourself, but you'll likely fail. Such is genius.
starstarstar42 2 years ago 40
True, true.
wuz352 2 years ago 5
the thing bout his music though, is that even though it is minamalist it's still enjoyable to listen too. the perfect circle thingy, even though it crazy hard, isn't that great of a peice to look at.
willis636 2 years ago
That's it, you said it all.
lecopop 2 years ago 3
@starstarstar42
so true
rg72rp 1 year ago
Awesome camera work!
PauloNideck 2 years ago
simple isnt easy
tophue 2 years ago 2
Come and see him live! Tues 26 May at the Barbican in London...
JAZZMAESTR0 2 years ago
see now i wanted to ,but they dont accept my type of credit card,they do visa,but not visa-electron, i wasnt happy to say the least!
hartnell114 2 years ago
me encanta....el sonido del piano...este tema....amo la película....y sin´ésta música,no sería igual...
ESTRELLITATURQUESA 2 years ago
Arguing about whether Glass is good or bad is plain stupid in my opinion.
People have different tastes and it's their right to like or dislike what Glass does. I play the piano and study music, and I like some of Glass's music.Not all though.
It amazes me when someone comes here claiming to know something about music while trying co convince others that Glass is pure trash. I have an advice for these kinds of ppl: Go flush yourselves. If you don't like Glass, go and listen to something else.
LVader20 3 years ago 8
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What I don't get is why, in a country that has produced so many great composers (Carter, Wuorinen, Sessions, Babbitt, Ornstein and Perle to name a few), can the country's people be so short-sighted in recognizing them, and instead choosing sell-outs like Glass, Adams and Reich who churn out the same crap every year and never deviating from the most simplistic ideas.
sequenzaVII 3 years ago
Because Glass composes beautiful music, as do the others!
and of course Glass' music is minimal - he virtually started the whole movement! and this is obviously a reason to stick with it throughout your career making beautiful music you love to both play and listen to.
Oh, and complicated music isn't always the nicest to listen to, simple ideas are sometimes the best ones.
:) Cheer up, it's only music,
crazyrubberducky 3 years ago 4
well said. :)
adamromano 3 years ago 2
Why thankyou :)xx
crazyrubberducky 3 years ago
Indeed, Minimalism is not 'minimal' - I couldn't agree more!!
stravinsky99 3 years ago
THIS moves me so much so! I love Philip Glass for ALL the soul and REALNESS conveyed in his music... abSOULutly whonderful!
songbirdshe 3 years ago
Brilliant - Philip Glass is an awesome musician!
DezzaLondon 3 years ago
I dont understand why people complain so much about philip glass, its one thing to not like it thats personal but to feel the need to call him talentless and a hack is wrong, music is about rules or how difficult it is. Its about how it sounds, an art which makes it something that should not be constricted by the so called "rules" of these elitist snobs!!! more people need to realise this and begin to enjoy music for what it is.
byrne666 3 years ago 7
I love this guy! Seriously, he's awesome.
msumedanthro 3 years ago 2
love hate thing with me and phillip glass. some of his pieces are exquisite from start to finish. some of his pieces annoy me because they take an abrupt turn in tempo, mood, and melody. sometimes the crescendos can be excessively prolonged and build to a blaring pitch that makes me wince.
but it's all worth it for some of the treasures he has composed that completely swept away my imagination, heart and soul.
caught his live performance of koyanis... in toronto in the 80's. perfection.
thriceplowedfield 3 years ago 5
he plays it a bit fast, is it because he is at home so he is kind of relaxed?
bcatyahoo 3 years ago
I love that Philip Glass is such a battleground. Some people are enchanted and some are deeply offended. It's all great fun.
alexvollrathsmith 3 years ago 4
Steve Reich does it better imo, but I'm surprised at all the Philip Glass hate. He has made a sizable contribution to contemporary compositional technique with his work on minimalism. The dude's no lightweight. Go listen to Einstein on the Beach if you're not familiar with it.
saustinevans 3 years ago 3
im not much of a fan of philip glass, but the monoty of his themes create a certain sutil intensity of emotion. he is not talentles but he sticks with the easy stuff and musicaly justifies it. its called minimalism, and there are other great composers that follow this genre. its quite interesting
aguadololo 3 years ago
I agree. it does have a certain subtle intensity of emotion - unquote, and one which can send the listener from 0 to manic depressive in about 15 minutes if your not careful. Accordingly I very much pace myself when it comes to Glass.
pianoplayeruk 3 years ago
What is interesting is that this video has been viewed 63,646 times, and rated 145 times. that means only 1 in every 435 viewers rate it.
I wonder why?
Could be because Philip Glass's compositions are basically not worth rating? and that his followers consist primarily of the deaf, the insane, and the musically impotent?
perhaps so..
Then again perhaps not. Now please excuse me while I go and take my medicine...
pianoplayeruk 3 years ago
Do you even know what minimalism is? Philip Glass had about 8 years of complex musical compositions for orchestra, but he threw them out, and decided that he would create music on the basis of modulating rhythm not harmony.
Minimalism is usually just an ostinato or two being repeated and slightly modulated so through the beginning of the piece and end of the piece shows some rhythmic development, maybe carry a simple melody through, maybe even basic harmony.
whitestripesftw 3 years ago
I'm not that big of Glass fan, btw, but I do enjoy Riley and others who play minimalism, just wanted to let you know, minimalism isn't just "easy music." It can get overly complicated and pretty hard. Listen to "A Rainbow in Curved Air" by Terry Riley, or "Phrygian Gates" by Adams.
whitestripesftw 3 years ago
You are definitely right about Adams' Phrygian Gates- it's not the fact that one would have to play that piece for over 20 minutes, but its the minute rhythmic details that Adams put in that is easily overlooked.
sugarhed 3 years ago
Minimalism is not just an ostinato, or a repetetive arpeggio. Phillip Glass, knows what he is doing i am not questioning his musicianship. Minimalism runs on the basic frase: less is more. That can mean anything, with a simple element an amalgama of resources and development rises and becomes a piece or whatever, for example, Reich and Glass Minimalism is actually very enjoyable for people that do not have much musical knowledge, because it is simple, that does not mean it is bad music
aguadololo 3 years ago
It takes more genius to take out all the superfluous elements of a composition. "Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall." These two sentences embody perfection, for me. A sure way to avoid perfection is to add unnecessary complications. Philip Glass gets this, you, however, do not. Stating that people who like minimalism do so because they are ignorant to music theory or whatever, is a very misinformed opinion to have.
fullmetal1582 3 years ago 4
you are wright
aguadololo 3 years ago
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Well going by that way of thinking, you could extend it to; Why talk in full sentences, why use words that have more than 3 letters in them etc. etc. That logic is incredibly anti-intellectual. Glass fans tend to know very little about music, that's a general fact I've found. I truly believe this is dumb music for dumb audiences who have given up on trying to appreciate more intellectually demanding music because it doesn't satisfy them on the Glass-level of simplified garbage.
sequenzaVII 3 years ago
It isn't the intellect behind the piece which is important it is how it effects the audience. I admit I know very little about Music but that isn't to say I do not appreciate it or haven't listened to 'intellectual' music.
Simplified music isn't a crime nor should it be frowned upon. In trying to complicate things we sometimes forget the raw beauty of music. The repeative structure Glass creates hypnotises and lures. You probably can only properly enjoy it if you don't know anything behind it.
QueenOfTheKelpies 3 years ago
The problem is, though, that this is all he has ever done. It's not like he started off writing this stuff and then went "okay, enough is enough" and started writing in a more progressive style. His works have evolved very little over the past 40 years, yet I can think of tons of more worthwhile composers who manage to write in a new style with each new piece, or at least in the span of 5 years or so. Of course, these guys are the ones nobody ever hears about or pays attention to.
sequenzaVII 3 years ago
Touche. Very good points. I can't dispute the fact that not all talented composers make it into the lime light. Heres hoping they are good inspiration to other composers. Glass may have just found something that works and was perhaps afraid to bring it to the next level. We'll never know.
QueenOfTheKelpies 3 years ago
I enjoyed your straw man argument. However, the straw man is an informal fallacy of symbolic logic. Look it up. Although, I do agree with your sentiments. Why make language more complicated than it has to be? Why speak a sentence of 20 words if you can preserve the meaning in, say, 7 words? Oh wait, we do that all the time. Go look up the definition of any word and you will find that takes more than one word to define another word. Nobody likes a music snob, ya know.
fullmetal1582 3 years ago
In my argument, I was referring to people's abbreviation of words- for example; "i enjyd yr strw man argmnt". Would you apply for a job or something using such idiotic means? I wouldn't. I don't believe Glass communicates anything of worth in his music. To communicate successfully, one must realize the full potential of language and what it can do. I doubt any of his string quartets, piano music or symphonies, for example, arouse the same life-changing feelings as Scriabin or Bartòk have done.
sequenzaVII 3 years ago
I for one could hardly disagree with your stance more, sequenzaVII. There is nothing even resembling abbreviation in Glass' music, or minimalism in general. Quite the opposite. Every idea is explored to a microscopic level. Furthermore, comparing the work of Glass to Bartok is like arguing that penicillin has had less impact on society that the light bulb. Both are important developments that came from totally different places. Glass communicates volumes, and changed my life for sure.
Aschenmonster 3 years ago
Yes, Glass and Bartok were important in their respective fields. Yet, in concerts, Glass's music gets played side by side with composers more associated with the classical tradition. But I agree, let's not compare apples and oranges. Glass is a populist, narrow-minded composer and Bartòk was a craftsman of genius.
sequenzaVII 3 years ago
Glass fans tend to know very little about music? Try telling that to the scholars who have written extensively on the subject of Minimalist Art and Music!
stravinsky99 3 years ago
By what objective reasoning would you say that Glass's music is not minimal?
sequenzaVII 3 years ago 2
By the fact that despite the use of 'minimal material' from which processes then develop, there is the issue of HOW these process develop; furthermore, of the performance issues involved and more crucially, of response. Despite the almost static development, the process themselves are complex, in part, not sytematic and rythmically very difficult to perform. Then there is the issue of psycho-acoustic phenomena and the wealth of different listening experiences which minimalist music engenders.
stravinsky99 3 years ago
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It takes more genius to take out all the superfluous elements of a composition. "Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall." These two sentences embody perfection, for me. A sure way to avoid perfection is to add unnecessary complications. Philip Glass gets this, you, however, do not. Stating that people who like minimalism do so because they are ignorant to music theory or whatever, is a very misinformed opinion to have.
fullmetal1582 3 years ago
i think philip glass is a pretty cool guy, eh composes music with repetitive themes and doesn't afraid of anyone
bearblock 3 years ago 2
i think philip glass is a pretty cool guy, eh composes music with repetitive themes and doesn't afraid of anyone.
i think i think i think i think philip glass is pretty cool guy.
Skooma714 3 years ago
Cool he might be - Pretty? i don't think so.. but then each to his or her own eh Skooma?
pianoplayeruk 3 years ago
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Glass is such a talentless hack. Obviously there's a bunch of dim-witted fools on youtube that love to listen to the musings of talentless hacks.
sonicpsychiatry 3 years ago
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So does this guy do anything else other than repeat an arpeggio progression for 6 minutes?
3510211 3 years ago
In a word: No.
pianoplayeruk 3 years ago
The old master himself !!!
fezkraut 3 years ago
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He cannot compose and cannot play.
laurion69 3 years ago
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At least there is someone on youtube with a brain. This guy is a compositional hack and he can't play the piano for crap.
sonicpsychiatry 3 years ago
Ah. I see people do not appreciate the music of Philip Glass himself. Modern genius: I would think so. His repetitive structures may not be favourable among many modern "critics" however, I much prefer Glass to composers such as Schoenberg for example who favour atonalism.
And to conclude, in the words of Glass himself: "If you don't like my music, don't listen to it. There's the Beatles, there's Mozart; if you don't like it, listen to something else. I don't care."
AwesomeArpeggios 3 years ago 3
I just love Glass' music. I know he studied Bach and Beethoven, but I've always wondered: ¿what Glass thinks about Erik Satie music? Most people would say I'm crazy by comparing them, but I believe both composers tend to the repetitive sequences in their music. As a very amateur piano player I am, really love both Glass and Satie music. I just thank life for giving me the chance of sharing this land with Glass.
BPLince 3 years ago
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holy cow, self promotion to the highest levels. Music to the very lowest! Pathetic. SO PATHETIC!
Justino111 3 years ago
Finally...at least someone has ears. Thanks for the comment.
Drewsical 3 years ago
people are way too accommodated. And the level of superficiality is gigantic. The result is what you see on YT and elsewhere: when some pathetic, mediocre arpeggios are composed by someone who self proclaimed to be "an emotional composer versus the intellectual ones", people applaud this shallowness as if it were the ultimate breath of human creativity. The whole thing is utterly pathetic.
Justino111 3 years ago
I agree, ad infinitum, Justino111
Drewsical 3 years ago
why are you watching this if you don't like phillip glass?
cklinger33 3 years ago
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it's called democracy. Free world. And it's also called PATHETIC MUSIC that deserves to be treated as such.
Justino111 3 years ago
u really believe u're in a democracy and free world eh.
TheArthen 3 years ago
then i guess i'm a conspiracy theorist who loves Glass' music. LOLLLLLLL
TheArthen 3 years ago
Pieces by Glass hold a simplistic beauty, and sound ever so easy to play: however the theory behind the composition is quite outstanding. He has a brilliant ear for chord changes, and for individual note harmonies.
AwesomeArpeggios 3 years ago
Care to elaborate on this "outstanding" theory?
Drewsical 3 years ago
Why yes, if you so desire.
Let's take his "Opening" from his album "Glassworks" as first example, because I can play it.
The first chords seem simple enough: an Fm with the 3rd and 5th repeated under the 1st and 3rd degrees also repeated (however, these are played as duple eighth notes under triplet eighth notes). The top note the changes to the 5th degree. Glass then moves down in the left hand to an Eb chord (7th degree of the Fm scale) with the 3rd and 5th being played in duple time.
AwesomeArpeggios 3 years ago
You've just given a play-by-play. There is no fantastic system...and if you thing 3 against 2 is something new, you've got another thing coming.
Drewsical 3 years ago
I never said it was anything new.
And I do apologise for liking music that seems good to my own ears and experience. I also apologise for having my own opinions on music.
Would you care to tell me what to listen to, oh brilliant Drewsical who's opinions and thoughts are the prophecies of God himself?
AwesomeArpeggios 3 years ago
You're right. Like whatever you want.
Drewsical 3 years ago 2
I wish i could get my hands o this movie
unpuercofeo 3 years ago 3
netflix
moogme 3 years ago
Thank you! In art and life, simple beauty is delivered only when the skills are perfectfully trained. That arpeggio is like running water (and in fact in The Hours it is related to the river), and, just like in clear water, the slightest impurity is immediately spotted.
In simplicity even the slightest mistake is highlighted, so that the performer must have all the qualities at his best not to fail.
And sure you'll get through, as you are able to SEE. Props to you and best wishes!
perchequi 3 years ago
amazing *-*
danke91 3 years ago
that's the brilliant... He plays 5 - 6 notes and he comes up with such a fantastic, moving, brilliant piece of music.. that's ART mate
nico23M 3 years ago
He holds up remarkably well for a 70 year old man!
mikeockurts 3 years ago
i was moved deeply so good thing i was sitting on the toilet.
newportvtman 3 years ago
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this music is stupid!
akbleiweiss 3 years ago
you must be kidding me, right!! you prick!!
nico23M 3 years ago
how anyone could listen to this and not be moved i cannot understand
his music always evokes such intense emotion from within me, and my entire body swells with the music that never fails to combine sadness, happiness, loneliness, turmoil, hope.
it's incredible, and to me, the fact that he can create so many nuances with such few notes is a miracle and a gift to the music world.
that is all for now, with tears streaming
zozo611 3 years ago
I absolutely agree, zozo611! You took the words right out of my mouth! :-)
AnjaLovesMusic 3 years ago
i was expecting he may had a few krells
wot2wot2 3 years ago
Earaem
Most of the music makers don't know to play them pieces.
Why should they know to play?!
They just make music, others can play...
kacaku 3 years ago
'Most of the music makers don't know to play them pieces.'
Well, not really like that.
They know how to play, of course.
And of course they have to practise playing what they have composed. They are artists and professional.
perchequi 3 years ago
"...they have to practise playing what they have composed"
This isn't actually true. When I compose, I don't always sit down and play what I've written. That's why performers need not be composers, and vice versa. Your comment is practically the same as claiming that a composer should be able to play every instrument for which he writes, which I'm sure you can understand is a ridiculous thing to assume
ChaosUnchained 3 years ago
wait ! can someone explain what he means by saying
' i'm hust learning that piece'
or
'i told him i'll play the hours, and now i have to learn it'
???
???
???
Earaem 3 years ago
where i can find the partitions of "Japura River" Phillip Glass
thx
boris0390 3 years ago
He wouldnt call himself a minimalist, hewould say he was a composer of repetative themes and motifs.
crazywales 3 years ago
Es ist gar nicht so einfach in diesem Stück ein Fehler unterzubringen, aber Philip schafft es ;-)
composer86 3 years ago
i love him
PerryLane83 4 years ago
Grazie per le sue composizioni.
steottomano 4 years ago
wow el de la primera foto es Joe Hisaishi
zedocaixao 4 years ago
Just love his way of composing. The music from the hours is very moving, though technically quite simple. Doesn't matter it's just great :D
freakyfrizzl 4 years ago
It is NOT technically simple.
The sensibility in playing it makes the difference, which becomes a technical one, too. People able to make THAT difference are few.
perchequi 3 years ago
Yes, it is techinically simple. On a level of musical simplicity, this is about 1750 or so. But I guess that's it's point. To be so simple.
ruitye75ir94444 3 years ago
Not only that... What i meant saying 'the sensibility in playing etc' is:I think to EXPRESS the sensibility in the right touch and timing, that is: to ACTUALLY convey the inner sensibility in action, IS a technical matter, too. And not at all simple.
perchequi 3 years ago
That's not a technical aspect of the performance. That's an emotional aspect. Many composers have composed songs with both of those ideas, take Brahms first piano concerto. Not only is it hard to play, but emotionally difficult. Philip Glass hasn't affected music in the slightest way. In a hundred years, no one will care about Minimalism.
ruitye75ir94444 3 years ago
my friends mr. young, mr. reich, and mr. riley would disagree
pezmanpockyfan 3 years ago
No, they would agree. So would Debussy Satie or Ravel on topics of impressionism. They attempt to aviod genres, but continue writing in a stylistic form. If anythings it's obnoxious, seeing this guys deny their music roots, then write symphonies in that style. Please, someone explain to me what minimilism does in the 20th and 21th century that hasn't been done before. It's still a mystery to me...
ruitye75ir94444 3 years ago
His music has definitely had an effect on the music of today. Much of it would most likely be considered low brow, such as the explosion of minimal techno, but such distinctions are the realm of pompous assholes. I think the goals and emotions surrounding minimalism are changing and therefore there is still new ground to explore.
kronicred 3 years ago
Harmonically or melodically, how is this "minimal techno" different from minimalism? There is no difference. There are no "emotions" surrounding minimalism or "goals." Music is music. From a academic standpoint, minimalism is anachronistic and doesn't push music forward. Have you even analyized this stuff? Have you studied the score? No, you just listen to Philip babble about consumerism, then you think it somehow relates to the music. It doesn't. Learn to get over Wagnerian tricks...
ruitye75ir94444 3 years ago
He's a minimalist, you know... ;)
mgmello 4 years ago 2
where can i watch this all?!
stu19855 4 years ago 2
good question
phuckthefcc 3 years ago
wow, i was mislead that philip glass was dark and myterious, but he actually seems like a nice guy.
his music is very unique, in its repetious and rythmatic style
yoka955 4 years ago
he is so good i wish i could play!
giadalover 4 years ago
Where can i find the rest!
Wishchrono 4 years ago
Haha, Thats exactly what my friend said when we watched this on DVD!! I noticed he had a VHS player too! I'm glad I'm not the only VHS-using person left :P
GlassEtudes 4 years ago
Haha, tell you what, my dad used to drop by there, but he wasnt that much around. he doesn't spend very much tim in his apartmnt...
mathildedollekens 4 years ago
omg its him! ive had the priviledge of meeting him..... twice. seen many live concerts.... where the movie plays and he and his orchestra play live with it. i love him! What an artist. what a genius
JuanEnrique24 4 years ago 2
Grazie per tutto quello che ci da Maestro!
steottomano 4 years ago
His music is great. I once saw him on a concert, in the entire room was a magical athmosphere when he played
bluntimoto 4 years ago 3
Yes but after he plays the piece there is a apple
biocaca412 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is not Philip Glass... if it is, wouldn't he know how how to play "Metamorphoses" Properly?
drumdude2 4 years ago
it's obviously an impostor in Glass' home with Glass' face super-glued to his own
zomgFletch 4 years ago 8
Nice comment, I like your sense of humour.
clemencie 2 years ago
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i also find it very dodgy that someone would make a mistake while playing their own piece.. and i agree that it's one of the metamorphoses, i'm sure glass would know that..
oldkentroad88 4 years ago
Philip Glass told me that he was given two concert grand piano's by Baldwin, one for his home and one for his studio.
klactv 4 years ago
so intimate...what a great artist
premalmandala 4 years ago 5
he is a genius.
worldonfire22 4 years ago 3
where is the part where he buys a loaf of bread?
MColivejuice 4 years ago
Lol, type in 'Philip Glass Loaf of Bread' :)
TheBlackPage1 4 years ago
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The image of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama prostrating himself before Mr. Glass is an obvious fake. We are likely dealing with a conspiracy much larger, and more sinister, than we imagined. Playing the audio track backwards would likely reveal hidden messages and yield more clues.
MottOne 4 years ago
On another note, this is Philip Glass, however I am confused as to why he says Metamorphosis II is from the Hours. Metamorphosis I-V was written in 1988 whereas The Hours was released in 2002. The discrepancy is something to wonder about.
Popecornclock 4 years ago
Yes but after he plays the piece there is a cut so presumably he was talking about another piece than we heard.
newclearconfusion 4 years ago
No it is Metamorphosis II and it is from 'The Hours' only it is an orchestrated version on the soundtrack the piece is called 'Escape!' so the description box was right all along..
BornAgain2989 4 years ago
ahh i see, thanks
newclearconfusion 4 years ago
This piece is also used in the end credits of "the thin blue line". Its not really a discrepancy; the film makers temped. the first cuts of The Hours with prerecorded glass music. After hiring a (or two?) composers, they didn't like that they were doing, and decided to get Philip (or nico muhley) to reorchestrate the pieces they used in the temp track... so bascially, almost all of the music from the hours is rerecorded, reorchestrated old Glass music. Trickey, eh?
snogger6 4 years ago 4
metamorphosis was the original. He reworked his old piece for the Hours, many many years later. I don't really think any real thought needs to be made about it, it's kind of obvious.
sarahneko 4 years ago
I've watched this DVD twice, and this song is not from the Hours, this is Metamorphosis II.
Popecornclock 4 years ago
Amazing. That trickle w the right hand ws great.
So fantastic to see inside Phill's house, how he works.
Heard Einstein in 80 or 81 and have been hooked since.
OctopusClub 4 years ago
estão cos copos ou quê
polamaral 4 years ago
To anyone who thinks this is Dedic: go look for pictures of him in google images. The man in this video looks nothing like Dedic.
xciu 4 years ago
You know what?...i'm starting to believe that he's not mr. Glass,is he is indeed Arsen Dedic he leaves clues about it,changing the name of the composition he was going to play and in 1:17 he has a mistake and re-starts that melody...mmmmm i begin to think: "conspiracy" ;)
luxOculta 4 years ago
Oh yeah, and nice reference: and then goes out to buy a loaf of bread. LOL :D
Bajutsuka 4 years ago
I've just looked at some pictures of Arsen Dedic, but he lookes more like Roy Orbinson. :D I can't imagine that he would be able te get away with impersonating Philip Glass?? 8-| But maybe when he was younger? ;)
They aren't actually saying that this is New York, but that Philip Glass has his roots in the experimental underground music of New York in the seventies.
I really hope this is the one and only, authentic, Philip Glass, he is very nice and relaxed here, and I have heard otherwise.
Bajutsuka 4 years ago
Wow! Never thought about Philip Glass - Battles are like a branca-glass deal...
cool...
peace
swardell 4 years ago
i have compared live "DBRphilip glass performing" with this and the "Glass" in each appears to be wearing the same shirt but to have different styles and the"Glass" on stage is wearing eyeglasses and the "Glass" as home is not. I tend to agree with MOttONE.
flashhooker 4 years ago