Philip Glass showed why he's the centerpiece of the weekend with a program of striking musical intelligence. After a short solo intro, Wendy Sutter performed Songs and Poems for Cello, a dark, sonorous, rich, dolorous piece with surprising warmth and emotion. Sutter's a disciplined player with a streak of passion underneath the surface, perfect for the piece. (Glass wrote it specifically for her.)
Then Glass played six etudes from an unfinished collection. The setting was positively cinematic--the dark back curtain lit deep purple and blue, Glass alone at the piano in profile. The pieces were filled with big melodies, memorable enough to be pop songs, punctuated by sharp splinters of glistening high-end notes. The final piece was heavy and rhythmic--it could have been the soundtrack to the climax of a particularly dark psychological thriller. The beat was so strong I tapped my foot through most of it. The highlight so far, and it's hard to imagine it being eclipsed.
Then Glass played six etudes from an unfinished collection. The setting was positively cinematic--the dark back curtain lit deep purple and blue, Glass alone at the piano in profile. The pieces were filled with big melodies, memorable enough to be pop songs, punctuated by sharp splinters of glistening high-end notes. The final piece was heavy and rhythmic--it could have been the soundtrack to the climax of a particularly dark psychological thriller. The beat was so strong I tapped my foot through most of it. The highlight so far, and it's hard to imagine it being eclipsed.
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