Symphony No. 4 (Glass)

Last updated

Symphony No. 4 ("Heroes") is a symphony composed by American composer Philip Glass in 1996 based on the album "Heroes" by David Bowie. Glass had based his earlier Symphony No. 1 on the David Bowie album Low .

Contents

Symphony

The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion, harp, piano, celesta and strings.

The symphony is in six movements:

  1. "Heroes"
  2. Abdulmajid
  3. Sense of Doubt
  4. Sons of the Silent Age
  5. Neuköln
  6. V2 Schneider

"Abdulmajid", the David Bowie song on which the second movement was based, was not included on the original release of Heroes, but was recorded around the Heroes recording sessions. The song would later be released on the Rykodisc reissue of the album in 1991.

Album

"Heroes" Symphony
Studio album by
Released1996
Recorded1996; Looking Glass Studios, NYC
Genre Classical
Length44:11
Label Point Music
Producer Kurt Munkacsi, Michael Riesman

The album "Heroes" Symphony includes only the "Heroes" Symphony performed by American Composers Orchestra directed by Michael Riesman and conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Recorded and distributed by POINT Music record label, a joint venture of Euphorbia Productions Ltd and Philips Classics Productions, catalog number 454-388-2.

Track listing

  1. "Heroes" (5:53) [1]
  2. Abdulmajid (8:53)
  3. Sense of Doubt (7:20)
  4. Sons of the Silent Age (8:18)
  5. Neuköln (6:41)
  6. V2 Schneider (6:48)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Glass</span> American composer (born 1937)

Philip Glass is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive phrases and shifting layers. Glass describes himself as a composer of "music with repetitive structures", which he has helped to evolve stylistically.

<i>"Heroes"</i> (album) 1977 studio album by David Bowie

"Heroes" is the twelfth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 14 October 1977 through RCA Records. Recorded in collaboration with the musician Brian Eno and the producer Tony Visconti, it was the second release of his Berlin Trilogy, following Low, released in January the same year, and the only one wholly recorded in Berlin. Sessions took place in mid-1977 after Bowie completed work on Iggy Pop's second solo album Lust for Life. Much of the same personnel from Low returned for "Heroes", augmented by the King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

<i>Lodger</i> (album) 1979 studio album by David Bowie

Lodger is the thirteenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 25 May 1979 through RCA Records. Recorded in collaboration with the musician Brian Eno and the producer Tony Visconti, it was the final release of his Berlin Trilogy, following Low and "Heroes". Sessions took place in Switzerland in September 1978 during a break in the Isolar II world tour, and in New York City in March 1979 at the tour's end. Most of the same personnel from prior releases returned, and the future King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew joined from the tour. The sessions saw the use of techniques inspired by Eno's Oblique Strategies cards, such as having the musicians swap instruments and playing old songs backwards.

Symphony No. 1 (Low) is a symphony by Philip Glass based on David Bowie's 1977 album Low.

"Warszawa" is a mostly instrumental song by David Bowie and Brian Eno originally released in 1977 on the album Low. The band Joy Division was initially called Warsaw as a reference to this song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle Goodnight</span> Song by David Bowie

"Miracle Goodnight" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in October 1993 by Arista Records as the third and final single from his 18th studio album, Black Tie White Noise (1993). The song was written by Bowie and produced by Nile Rodgers. It reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Matthew Rolston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin Trilogy</span> Trilogy of studio albums by David Bowie

The Berlin Trilogy consists of three studio albums by English musician David Bowie: Low, "Heroes" and Lodger (1979). Bowie recorded the albums in collaboration with English musician Brian Eno and American producer Tony Visconti. The trilogy originated following Bowie's move from Los Angeles to Europe with American singer Iggy Pop to rid themselves of worsening drug addiction. Influences included the German krautrock scene and the recent ambient releases of Eno.

"Subterraneans" is a song by David Bowie, the closing track of his 1977 album Low. As with most of Side 2, "Subterraneans" is mostly instrumental, with brief, obscure lyrics sung near the song's end.

"Sons of the Silent Age" is a song written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album "Heroes". According to Brian Eno, it was the only song on the album composed prior to the recording sessions, all others being improvised in the Hansa by the Wall studio. Bowie himself indicated that Sons of the Silent Age could at one stage have been the title for the album, rather than "Heroes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V-2 Schneider</span> 1977 single by David Bowie

"V-2 Schneider" is a largely instrumental song written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album "Heroes", and released as the B-side of "'Heroes'". The song was not played on the subsequent Isolar II Tour and its first live rendition occurred in 1997, 20 years after it was recorded. Mojo magazine listed it as Bowie's 95th best track in 2015.

"Sense of Doubt" is an instrumental piece written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was the first of three instrumentals on Side Two of the original vinyl album that segued into one another, preceding "Moss Garden" and "Neuköln".

"Neuköln" is an instrumental piece written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was the last of three consecutive instrumentals on side two of the original vinyl album, following "Sense of Doubt" and "Moss Garden".

Margaret Brouwer is an American composer and composition teacher. She founded the Blue Streak Ensemble chamber music group.

The Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour, more commonly known as The Low / Heroes World Tour or The Stage Tour, was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The tour opened on 29 March 1978 at the San Diego Sports Arena continuing through North America, Europe and Australia before reaching a conclusion at the Nippon Budokan in Japan on 12 December 1978.

Symphony No. 5 "Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya" is a symphony for chorus and orchestra by the American composer Philip Glass. It was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival, Austria and premiered August 28, 1999 and was conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

Philip Glass' Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music. It was first performed on October 15, 1994, by the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

<i>Joseph Schwantner: New Morning for the World; Nicolas Flagello: The Passion of Martin Luther King</i> 1995 album by the Oregon Symphony

Joseph Schwantner: New Morning for the World; Nicolas Flagello: The Passion of Martin Luther King is a classical music album by the Oregon Symphony under the artistic direction of James DePreist, released by Koch International Classics in 1995. Recorded at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, in September 1994, the album is a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and was released in his honor on the following holiday in his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)</span> 2014 song by David Bowie

"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" is a song by English musician David Bowie released on 17 November 2014 as the lead single from the 2014 compilation album Nothing Has Changed. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, the song originated after the two saw bandleader and composer Maria Schneider perform with her orchestra in May 2014. They began collaborating on Bowie's first major project since The Next Day (2013). Following workshop sessions in mid-June, the track was recorded officially at Avatar Studios in New York on 24 July 2014, with contributions from Schneider's orchestra.

Symphony No. 12 (Lodger) is the twelfth symphony by the American composer Philip Glass. The work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered January 10, 2019, with John Adams conducting the LA Phil at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The European premiere followed on May 9, 2019 with a performance by the London Contemporary Orchestra at Southbank Centre.

References