Jeroen Van Veen: Philip Glass - Solo Piano Music (2013)

C. Michael Bailey

Senior Contributor since 1997

...wants to know if Gene Harris is playing "Summertime" in Heaven...

Recent articles (1,697 total)

Published: March 17, 2013

Jeroen Van Veen: Philip Glass - Solo Piano Music

Composer Philip Glass remains a leading figure in American classical music after a fruitful career spanning six decades. Creator of symphonies, chamber music, operas and soundtracks, Glass has established himself as an immediately recognized artist whenever his compositions are played. His popular renown derives from his notable movie scores that include: Hamburger Hill (1987), The Thin Blue Line (1988), Kundun (1997); The Truman Show (1998), The Hours (2002), The Fog of War (2003) and Secret Window (2004).

Also popular, has been Glass' piano music, which has been described as an apex in the minimalist music movement. Glass prefers to refer to his compositions as "music with repetitive structures" rather than "minimalist," as his newer music shows deeper stylistic development than his minimalistic origins. Glass' piano music fairly defies categorization as, at first listen, he might be considered a "new age" composer, not unlike George Winston. Further listening dispels this comparison completely, however, as does a survey of the composer's symphonic and chamber oeuvre.

Glass' piano music is at once soothing and provocative. It is splendidly listenable and, in the capable hands of pianist/composer Jeroen Van Veen, is dispatched with kind grace and intelligent consideration. Van Veen, a minimalist composer and interpreter, has produced a major survey of minimal piano in his releases Minimal Piano Collection, Vol. I—IX (Brilliant Classics, 2007) and Minimal Piano Collection, Vol.X-XX (Brilliant Classics, 2012) that vividly illustrate the pianist's grasp of the genre. Glass gets the treatment he deserves from Van Veen, and this piano music is worthy of being heard this well-performed.

Track Listing: CD1: Glassworks – opening; Metamorphosis: No.1; Metamorphosis: No.2; Metamorphosis: No.3; Metamorphosis: No.4; Metamorphosis: No.5; Mad Rush; Wichita Vortex Sutra; Glassworks - opening. CD2: Modern Love Waltz; How Now; "Trilogy" Sonata: I. Einstein on the Beach - Knee Play No. 4; ‘Trilogy’ Sonata: II. Satyagraha - Act III Conclusion; "Trilogy" Sonata: III. Akhnaten - Dance (from Scene 3). CD3: The Hours: The Poet Acts; The Hours: Morning Passages; The Hours: Something She Has To Do; The Hours: I’m Going To Make A Cake; The Hours: An Unwelcome Friend; The Hours: Dead Things; The Hours: Why Does Someone Have to Die?; The Hours: Tearing Herself Away; The Hours: Escape!; The Hours: Choosing Life; The Hours: The Hours; ‘Truman Sleeps’ from The Truman Show; Glassworks – opening; Olympian.

Personnel: Jeroen Van Veen: piano, organ.

Record Label: Brilliant Classics