Philip Glass: The Complete Sony Recordings
Various artistsPhilip Glass
SONY BOX (24 disks)
BUY NOW FROM ARKIVMUSIC

When I first moved to Baltimore I found a record store that focused on classical music. The owner was a knowledgeable, kind gentleman whose name was Benjamin Glass. He always was willing to talk about classical music and we often discussed new recordings by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Eduard van Beinum, which were being issued at that time on the Epic label. He said he had a son who wanted to be a musician/composer. That son, whom I never met, was Philip Glass, who turned out to be one of the major composers on the American musical scene. My first exposure to Glass's music was some years ago when I heard portions of his opera Einstein On The Beach, which I did not enjoy. But obviously many people did, and the Glass style of repetition and key change has attracted a huge audience. He has received countless awards and commissions. Glass wrote prolifically, solo instrumental , chamber music, symphonic works, 14 operas, chamber operas, theater works, and music for films. His popularity is reflected in the many recordings of his music over the years, mostly for Sony.

To celebrate the 80th birthday of the legendary American compos Sony has issued this 24 disk set of all of their recordings of his music. It holds many treasures including the first release of Glassworks specially mixed for your personal cassette player. Also we find the original movie score score for Napoleon featuring Yo-Yo Ma, and a hard bound book with the original liner notes, most written by Glass. Complete program notes and recording information are included, and many photographs..

This is a handsome important set; if you are interested, get it now. And keep in mind that Sony is not the only company to record music of Glass. This site has mentioned recordings of his Violin Concerto and several symphonies, not found on this Sony collection. For information about these, check our CD INDEX.

Surely Benjamin Glass would have been very proud of his son!

R.E.B. (October 2016)