The Concerto Project is a collection of concerti written by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) 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 minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. The series was begun in 2000 and contains eight works, the most famous of which is probably the '' Concerto for Cello and Orchestra''. Some of the concerti in the volumes were written before the commencement of the project and were categorized into the series.

Volumes

There are four volumes of the ''Project'': * ''The Concerto Project Vol. I'', containing the ''

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

'' and the '' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra''. * ''The Concerto Project Vol. II'', containing the '' Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis and Clark'', and the '' Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra''. * ''The Concerto Project Vol. III'', containing the ''Concerto Grosso'' and the ''Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra''. * ''The Concerto Project Vol. IV'', containing the ''Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra'' and the '' Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra'' (also known simply as ''Piano Concerto No. 1''). These concerti were all produced by Orange Mountain Music.

Background

Commission

Philip Glass wrote all of the concerti on commission from various ensembles or people; the ''Concerto Fantasy'', for example, was requested by Jonathan Haas, a respected timpanist. Glass stated in 2000: "Jonathan Haas approached me almost ten years ago with an invitation to write a Timpani Concerto for him. It seemed we were in agreement to begin our project when a series of operas and symphonic commissions led to a series of postponements. Now, years later, the work is finally completed, a three movement concerto with cadenza. It has also grown into a "double" concerto requiring two timpanists playing a total of nine timpani between them." Similarly, the ''

'' was commissioned by friends of Glass, William and Rebecca Kreuger, for the fiftieth birthday of renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, who later premiered the piece in Beijing.philipglass.com, ''cello concerto''

Composition and influence

Some of the concerti were written about the same time as Glass' later symphonies, and distinct similarities can be heard, especially in the ''Toltec Symphony''. Along with Glass' recent symphonic work, the pieces mark a certain progression of Glass' musical approach; audibly, it can be seen that the composer has undergone major changes since his earlier, pro- minimalist period. Although Glass' music can still, in some sense, be categorized as "minimalist," the composer appears to have more classical tendencies, and has himself described his music as "classicist." These concerti are therefore a high-point of Glass' classical direction: they demonstrate a distinct combination of Postmodernist methods and older, more conventional repertoire (incidentally, Glass' favorite composer is Schubert, whose Classical-

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

bridging can be heard as a considerable influence on the contemporary composer's stylistic moves). Also discernible is a slight influence from the post- Mahlerian revolutionaries, mostly that of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

—on whom Glass has written extensively—in that the tempi are occasionally irregular: an uncommon choice for Glass, who usually stays strict to rhythmic pulse. This stray from uncompromising adherence to Glass' branch of minimalism can possibly be interpreted as an indication of a new level of musical progression, as well a statement supporting the continuation of an ongoing musical evolution. The concerti are considered hallmarks of twenty-first century classical composition, and have been performed many times. For more information about the selected works, visit the

page.

Recordings

These are recordings of the eight concerti within each of the volumes:

''Vol. I''

* 2001: Julian Lloyd Webber (cello) and Gerard Schwarz (with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), recorded 2004, released 2004 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. I'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra" (20:47). * 2000: Evelyn Glennie,

Jonathan Haas Jonathan Haas is an American timpanist. Philip Glass' ''Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra'' was commissioned for him by several orchestras. Early life Haas was born circa 1955, raised in Glencoe, Illinois, where his father w ...

(timpani) and Gerard Schwarz (with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), recorded 2004, released 2004 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. I'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra" (24:27).

''Vol. II''

* 2004: Paul Barnes (piano) and Ralf Gothóni (with Northwest Chamber Orchestra), recorded 2006, released 2006 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. II'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis and Clark" (35:26). * 2002: Jillon Stoppels Dupree (harpsichord) and Ralf Gothóni (with Northwest Chamber Orchestra), recorded 2006, released 2006 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. II'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra" (19:32).

''Vol. III''

* 1992: Various soloists and Dennis Russell Davies (with Beethoven Orchester Bonn), recorded 2008, released 2008 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. III'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto Grosso" (22:43). * 1995:

Raschèr Saxophone Quartet The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet is a professional ensemble of four saxophonists which performs classical and modern music. The quartet was founded in the United States in 1969 by prominent classical saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr and his daughter, Ca ...

(saxophones) and Roy Goodman (with Swedish Radio Orchestra Stockholm), recorded 2008, released 2008 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. III'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra" (26:53).

''Vol. IV''

* 2010:

Cecilia Bernardini Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls bo ...

(violin), Maarte-Maria den Herder (cello) and

Jurjen Hempel Jurjen is a Dutch given name. Notable people with this name include: * Jurjen Battjes (born 1939), Dutch civil engineer * Jurjen Bosch Jurjen Bosch (born 14 December 1985) is a Dutch retired professional football player who played as a forward fo ...

(with the Hague Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest), recorded 2010, released 2011 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. IV'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra" (31:32). * 2000: Dennis Russell Davies at piano and conducting (with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra), recorded 2002, released 2011 on ''The Concerto Project Vol. IV'' (Orange Mountain Music) as "Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" (28:47).

External links

Glass' webpage: ''Concerto Fantasy''

Julian Lloyd Webber's recording of the ''Cello Concerto''

''Concerto Project Vol. I''

''Project Vol. II''

''Project Vol. III''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concerto Project, The Compositions by Philip Glass Minimalism Glass