This recording of Philip Glass' opera Kepler comes from the world-premiere production at the Landestheater Linz in 2009. Veteran Glass associate Dennis Russell Davies leads soloists and the chorus of the theater and the Bruckner Orchester Linz in the performance. Kepler, a treatment of the life and thought of the 17th century German astronomer, returns to the epic themes of the trio of great biographical operas that initiated Glass' career as an opera composer, Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, and the ...
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This recording of Philip Glass' opera Kepler comes from the world-premiere production at the Landestheater Linz in 2009. Veteran Glass associate Dennis Russell Davies leads soloists and the chorus of the theater and the Bruckner Orchester Linz in the performance. Kepler, a treatment of the life and thought of the 17th century German astronomer, returns to the epic themes of the trio of great biographical operas that initiated Glass' career as an opera composer, Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, and the libretto in German and Latin by Martina Winkel has some echoes of the non-linear aspect of those works. The music reflects more recent developments in the composer's style, particularly a use of denser, thicker orchestral textures, more like those of The Voyage, which Davies recorded with the Linz forces after its 2002 European premiere. The music doesn't break any new ground (except for perhaps the increased prominence Glass gives to the large percussion section) and lacks the variety...
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