Symphony No. 1 (Glass)

Symphony No. 1 "Low", also known as the "Low" Symphony, is a symphony by Philip Glass based on David Bowie's album Low.

Symphony No. 1 "Low"
Other name"Low" Symphony
ISWCT-010.865.755-1
StylePostmodern, minimalist
FormSymphony
Composed1992 (1992)
PublisherDunvagen Music Publishers
Duration42 minutes
Premiere
Date30 August 1992 (1992-08-30)
LocationMunich, Germany
ConductorDennis Russell Davies
PerformersJunge Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie

In 1996 Glass based another symphony on David Bowie's following album "Heroes", and in 2018 he based his 12th Symphony on Bowie's album "Lodger", completing his trilogy of symphonies based on Bowie's Berlin Triptych.

The symphony

The symphony was composed in 1992 and scored for full orchestra with 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, E♭ clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, harp, piano and strings (including 8 first violins, 6 second violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos and 2 double basses).

The symphony has three movements:

  1. "Subterraneans"
  2. "Some Are"
  3. "Warszawa"

"Some Are", the David Bowie song on which the second movement was based, didn't feature on the original release of Low but was recorded during the Low recording sessions. The song would later be released on the Rykodisc reissue of the album in 1991.

Recordings

The first recording of this work was released in 1993 under the title Low Symphony. It was performed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic orchestra under the batons of Dennis Russell Davies, principal conductor, and Karen Kamensek, assistant conductor.[1] Philip Glass allowed ideas of Bowie and Brian Eno, who worked together on Low, to influence how he worked on the music.[2]

  1. "Subterraneans" – 16:08
  2. "Some Are" – 11:11
  3. "Warszawa" – 19:24
gollark: With a type system.
gollark: I have a great idea. Purely functional HQ9+.
gollark: No.
gollark: ++delete turing completeness
gollark: Unlike English, Latin has a functional case system.

See also

References
  1. Philip Glass: Music: "Low" Symphony Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Philip Glass: Music: "Low" Symphony". philipglass.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.


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