One of the greatest living composers, Philip Glass, will be celebrating his 85th birthday on January 31st, and Filharmonie Brno will be among those joining the celebrations. Chief conductor Dennis Russell Davies and his wife Maki Namekawa have been close friends of Glass for many years, and are united by intense artistic collaboration. Therefore, on the eve of Glass’s birthday, they will perform a piano recital with three works that the author wrote directly for them. Photo credit: Filharmonie Brno.
In addition, a CD of Glass’s Symphony No. 12, “Lodger”, will also see its launch. Filharmonie Brno were the first orchestra in the world to record the piece. “We are honoured that thanks to the chief conductor’s relationship with Glass, we can join the celebrations in this way, and we are especially proud of the premiere recording,” said Marie Kučerová, director of Filharmonie Brno.
Philip Glass was a part of the first wave of radical minimalists in the 1960s, alongside Steve Reich, Terry Riley and La Monte Young, whose compositions turned away from classical musical forms and tonal harmony. The emphasis on rhythm and trance in an endless series of fast-moving notes not only brought minimalism closer to popular music in a sense, but also opened the field of so-called classical music to a wide and uninformed audience.
The evening will open with the Six Etudes, which Glass wrote in 1994 and dedicated to Davies. Four movements for two pianos will make up the second half of the evening, performed by Davies and Namekawa
Tickets are available pre-sale at Filharmonie Brno, online, or at the venue 45 minutes before the concert. To enter the concert, guests over the age of 12 must provide proof of completed vaccinations, illness, or a negative covid test. The exact conditions of entry can be found here.
