Philip Glass Ensemble

This is a 2CD set of repertoire from the Philip Glass Ensemble’s 40-year career. Previously released as an iTunes only download, this is a live recording from a concert in Monterey Mexico in March 2004.

This is the soundtrack from a film directed by Scott Hicks which captures all aspects of Philip Glass’ life and work.

An eagerly awaited new work by Philip Glass based on the deeply personal and sometimes provocative poetry of Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing is a two-disc set of the complete song cycle written for ensemble, singers, spoken word and imagery. It is the culmination of years of mutual admiration between two of America’s most celebrated and uncompromising artists: “Leonard and I first began talking about a poetry-and-music collaboration nine years ago,” says Philip Glass. “We met in Los Angeles, and he had with him a manuscript that became the basis of the collection of poetry now published as the Book of Longing. I found it intensely beautiful, personal, and inspiring. On the spot, I proposed an evening-length work of poetry, music, and image based on it. For me, this is both a departure from past work and a fulfilment of an artistic dream.”

Premiere recording of an unusual music theatre piece, “a digital opera in three dimensions for ensemble and soloists” that used animated visuals designed by Robert Wilson (viewed by the audience through 3-D glasses) and a transcendent score by Philip Glass which marries exotic sounds to the 13th century Sufi mystic poet Jelaluddin Rumi’s meditations on the range of human experience.

Orion, a remarkable new concert work, was commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad 2001-2004.· Michael Reisman conducted the premiere in Athens in June 2004, just prior to the Olympic Games, and this is its first recording.