Boston Modern Orchestra Project Presents An Evening Dedicated To Philip Glass

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), the nation's premier orchestra dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording new orchestral music, devotes an evening to American composer Philip Glass (b.1937) with performances of his Symphony No. 2 and Tirol Concerto. Among the most influential composers across the spectrum of contemporary music-from film scores to music theatre, from rock and pop to art music-there is no denying the impact of Glass's unique work and aesthetic upon 20th century music. Also on the evening's program, BMOP continues its long-standing relationship with the New England Conservatory (NEC) with the premiere of The Dwarf Planets, a five-movement piece by NEC student Benjamin Park, winner of the annual BMOP-NEC Composition Competition.

"With its unique combination of experimentalism and listener-friendliness, Philip Glass's sound language is unmistakable," says Gil Rose, Artistic Director and Conductor of BMOP. "Glass is one of the few contemporary composers who communicates with his audience across many stylistic boundaries. BMOP is thrilled to be performing his work again."

In three substantial movements, Glass's Symphony No. 2 (1994) represents his second-generation brand of minimalism at its most mellifluous. Written in 1993, it uses polytonality as a basic element, providing, to a degree, the contrasts traditional in symphonic form. "I've been interested in polytonal music for some time," wrote Glass about the Symphony in liner notes to a 1998 recording. "Harmonic language and melodic language can coexist closely or at some calculated distance, and their relationship can be worked out in terms of either coexisting harmonies or ambiguous harmonies. Honegger, Milhaud, and Villa-Lobos - to name a few prominent polytonalists - pushed two tonalities together at the same time. But I'm more interested in the ambiguous qualities that can result from polytonality - how what you hear depends on how you focus your ear, how a listener's perception of tonality can vary in the fashion of an optical illusion. We're not talking about inventing a new language, but rather inventing new perceptions of existing languages."

Glass's interests also encompassed detailed study of ethnic musics; he used Tyrolese song themes for his Tirol Concerto (2000) for piano and orchestra. While staying in the state of Tyrol in western Austria, Glass studied sound recordings and transcriptions of Tyrolese folk music. The concerto incorporates elements of Alpine folk music and represents the first time Glass crafted musical ideas directly from folk sources. Since its premiere, Tirol Concerto has served as a sort of musical ambassador from Tyrol.

About BMOP

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is the premier orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A unique institution of crucial artistic importance to today's musical world, BMOP exists to disseminate exceptional orchestral music of the present and recent past via performances and recordings of the highest caliber. Founded by Artistic Director Gil Rose in 1996, BMOP has championed composers whose careers span nine decades. Each season, Rose brings BMOP's award-winning orchestra, renowned soloists, and influential composers to the stage of New England Conservatory's historic Jordan Hall in a series that offers orchestral programming of unmatched diversity. The musicians of BMOP are consistently lauded for the energy, imagination, and passion with which they infuse the music of the present era. For more information, please visit BMOP.org.