Philip Glass has experienced success with his Violin Concerto No. 2 ("The American Four Seasons"), which has been performed by multiple major organizations unconnected with Glass himself, the grail for any contemporary composer. The Venice Baroque Orchestra has obeyed Glass' intentions, presenting the work with Vivaldi's Four Seasons in concert. This may be a case in which composer intentions are best disregarded, for the work doesn't share much with its namesake except a four-section structure (vague in the case of the ...
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Philip Glass has experienced success with his Violin Concerto No. 2 ("The American Four Seasons"), which has been performed by multiple major organizations unconnected with Glass himself, the grail for any contemporary composer. The Venice Baroque Orchestra has obeyed Glass' intentions, presenting the work with Vivaldi's Four Seasons in concert. This may be a case in which composer intentions are best disregarded, for the work doesn't share much with its namesake except a four-section structure (vague in the case of the Glass) and a reference to general Baroque texture, the Glass concerto uses a synthesizer as "continuo." The four-seasons aspect seems to have misfired, as it transpired that Glass and soloist Robert McDuffie had different interpretations as to which section represented which season (the listener can certainly then supply his or her own with impunity). But this is not all that's interesting in the Glass concerto. His weaving together of various stylistic strands is subtle, and it coheres...
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