Glass’s 14th symphony will be premiered in London

Glass’s 14th symphony will be premiered in London

News

norman lebrecht

August 12, 2021

By a youth orchestra in a college. It’s a far cry from David Bowie days.

Press release:
On 17 September 2021, LGT Young Soloists will give the world premiere of a new symphony from Philip Glass at the Royal College of Music. The commission marks 100 Years of the private bank LGT, sponsors of the LGT Young Soloists. The concert will also feature a second new commission from the Russian-Canadian composer, Airat Ichmouratov.

Philip Glass composed his Symphony No. 14 Liechtenstein especially for this event with the work scored for string orchestra. Alongside the premiere of Glass’s Symphony, the LGT Young Soloists will also perform Airat Ichmouratov’s virtuosic masterpiece Concerto Grosso Liechtenstein. Glass’s Symphony has also been recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios for commercial release later this year on Philip Glass’s own label Orange Mountain Music.

 

Comments

  • Tony says:

    LGT is a very fine young orchestra of the highest standard.

    Before anyone asks, the “LGT” refers to their highly valued sponsor LGT Private Banking.

  • Terence says:

    Symphony No. 14 Liechtenstein
    Concerto Grosso Liechtenstein

    Sponsored by a bank in a valley somewhere which hides dirty money!

    Well done guys.

    • Tony says:

      Steady on.

      Do you have any evidence of LGT Private Banking being involved in hiding dirty money? If so, tell the authorities.

      Our industry enjoys sponsorship from business. This sponsorship will only be discouraged if the impression of being a benefactor turns into being slagged off unfairly for being dodgy.

      • Terence says:

        The “which” refers to the valley where Liechtenstein is located. It has been documented (e.g. the former Nigerian president) that said country hides stolen funds.

        As for LGT’s client list, we would only know if someone leaks information. I wish …

    • Allen says:

      In the absence of evidence, a cheap and ‘dirty’ comment.

  • Mock Mahler says:

    Glass’s FIFTEENTH symphony will be premiered by Noseda and the National Symphony in March 2022.

  • But it’s still a live performance with humans playing.

    Most composers today don’t get that.

  • caranome says:

    how’s it different from the previous 13?

    • Freewheeler says:

      It’s even more the same.

    • John Borstlap says:

      It has another number. And that is OK since you can’t remember the former number.

      • Peter B says:

        Of course, this comment can only come from an insignificant, old and bitter Dutch composer whose works nobody even remembers today and who has so.much time on his hands that he spends it spouting bitter and reactionary comments on SD. You’d wish he would at least show the dignity to shut up about his more successful colleagues. Alas.

        • John Borstlap says:

          I wholeheartedly agree… It should stop! Glass is fantastic. It helps me when I begin to loose faith in progress, I just play a couple of Glass pieces & find confidence & trust again. It has its flaws but it’s something in the right direction, better than all of that old reactionary stuf. So glad I’m not alone!

          Sally

          • Marfisa says:

            John-and-Sally – I know you are not a native English speaker, but please, learn the difference between ‘loose’ and ‘lose’.

      • Freewheeler says:

        I’m dreading Glass’s Symphony: the Delta Variant.

  • John Borstlap says:

    My fly on the wall tells me that the audience have to cleanse their hands before AND after the performance and have to wear masks and ear plugs.

  • Herr Doktor says:

    I’m not going to claim I’ve heard many of the Glass symphonies, but I have the recording of the 5th and think it’s a tremendous piece of music. I have a couple of the others in recording as well but haven’t gotten to them. I know there are many people out there who enjoy piling on when the subject of Glass comes up, and I guess that’s there perogative. But I have to say, it seems to me there’s real substance and quality in some of his music that I’ve heard. And to my ears, it’s worth hearing and I’ve enjoyed several of his works–which is a lot more than can be said for almost every new piece of music I’ve heard through the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the notable exception of Michael Gandolfi’s “Ascending Light” organ concerto, which was TREMENDOUS and received a tumultuous response from the audiences that heard it as its premiere in 2015.

    • Saxon says:

      Will Gandolfi’s “Ascending Light” organ concerto be performed again? Would you buy a ticket if it was?

  • microview says:

    Always smile when I remember cartoon of three glass-recycling boxes marked ‘Clear’, ‘Green’, and ‘Philip’, with a chap stuffing CDs into the latter

  • I wonder how much it costs to commission a symphony from Philip Glass.

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