Album

One of Philip Glass' great achievements aside from his role as a minimalist pioneer has been his successful effort to establish the composer and associated ensemble as a viable musico-economic model. For many years performances of his music usually involved his Philip Glass Ensemble, but this profusion of recordings of his music by independent ensembles is a strong sign of the durability of his reputation. Alter Ego, a group from Italy, here performs a group of early Glass works and generally tries to evoke the heady days when minimalism first came on the scene in New York. If anything, the group exceeds the hypnotic, mechanical yet relaxed precision Glass demanded from his own ensembles in the Music in Similar Motion and Music in Contrary Motion that bookend Disc One. For Glass fans, the chief appeal of this two-disc set may be the presence of several works recorded here for the first time. The two large pieces on disc two, 600 Lines and How Now, are, strange as it may seem to use the term in connection with Glass, teaching pieces: he wrote them in 1968, when the Philip Glass Ensemble was just taking shape, in order to train the group in satisfying what were then very radical demands on classically trained performers—"besides stamina and sustained concentration," Glass writes in the booklet here, "the ability to play continuously in a relaxed, easy and joyful manner." Despite this pedagogical function, the music was performed in New York and enthusiastically received; Alter Ego replicated the performance in Rome in 1999 with similarly successful results. Most of the music here illustrates a specific aspect of Glass' musical thinking rather than a synthetic realization of his ideas, and as such it will be of the most interest to listeners already fascinated by the composer. For these, however, it may be a must-have.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Philip Glass Composer Music in Similar Motion, for ensemble (or orchestra) Work Recorded 1999 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
1	Music in Similar Motion, for ensemble (or orchestra)	12:38			Album Only
Philip Glass Composer Strung Out, for amplified violin Work Recorded 1999 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
2	Strung Out, for amplified violin	14:28			Album Only
Philip Glass Composer Piece in the Shape of a Square, for 2 flutes Work Recorded 1999 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
3	Piece in the Shape of a Square, for 2 flutes	11:27			Album Only
Philip Glass Composer Gradus, for soprano saxophone Work Recorded 1999 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
4	Gradus, for soprano saxophone	10:19			Album Only
Philip Glass Composer Music in Contrary Motion Work Recorded 1999 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
5	Music in Contrary Motion	28:35			Album Only
CD 2 of 2
Philip Glass Composer 600 Lines Work Recorded 2002 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
1	600 Lines	40:13			Album Only
Philip Glass Composer How Now Work Recorded 2002 Alter Ego Ensemble Ensemble
2	How Now	20:14			Album Only