The Concerto Project is a collection of concerti written by Philip Glass. The series was begun in 2000 and contains eight works, the most famous of which is probably the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. Some of the concerti in the volumes were written before the commencement of the project and were categorized into the series.
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There are four volumes of the Project:
These concerti were all produced by Orange Mountain Music.
Philip Glass wrote all of the concerti on commission from various ensembles or people; the Concerto Fantasy, for example, was requested by Jonathan Haas, a respected timpanist. Glass stated in 2000: "Jonathan Haas approached me almost ten years ago with an invitation to write a Timpani Concerto for him. It seemed we were in agreement to begin our project when a series of operas and symphonic commissions led to a series of postponements. Now, years later, the work is finally completed, a three movement concerto with cadenza. It has also grown into a "double" concerto requiring two timpanists playing a total of nine timpani between them."[1]
Similarly, the Cello Concerto was commissioned by friends of Glass, William and Rebecca Kreuger, for the fiftieth birthday of renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, who later premiered the piece in Beijing.[2]
Some of the concerti were written about the same time as Glass' later symphonies, and distinct similarities can be heard, especially in the Toltec Symphony.
Along with Glass' recent symphonic work, the pieces mark a certain progression of Glass' musical approach; audibly, it can be seen that the composer has undergone major changes since his earlier, pro-minimalist period. Although Glass' music can still, in some sense, be categorized as "minimalist," the composer appears to have more classical tendencies, and has himself described his music as "classicist." These concerti are therefore a high-point of Glass' classical direction: they demonstrate a distinct combination of Postmodernist methods and older, more conventional repertoire (incidentally, Glass' favorite composer is Schubert, whose Classical-Romantic bridging can be heard as a considerable influence on the contemporary composer's stylistic moves).
Also discernible is a slight influence from the post-Mahlerian revolutionaries, mostly that of Stravinksy—on whom Glass has written extensively—in that the tempi are occasionally irregular: an uncommon choice for Glass, who usually stays strict to rhythmic pulse. This stray from uncompromising adherence to Glass' branch of minimalism can possibly be interpreted as an indication of a new level of musical progression, as well a statement supporting the continuation of an ongoing musical evolution. The concerti are hallmarks of twenty-first century classical composition, and have been performed many times.
For more information about the selected works, visit the Philip Glass page.
These are recordings of the eight concerti within each of the volumes:
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