I would rather listen to anything of Philip Glass than read someone writing about it. On the other hand, you might want to read Alan Ginsberg's 'Wichita Vortex Sutra' while listening to Glass, or you could download Ginsberg himself reading it from eMusic. Only a misanthrope could dislike Modern Love Waltz, all the while pondering if it's a waltz for Modern Love, or a Love Waltz that's modern?
I recently got turned on to Philip Glass when I happened upon one of his songs in an iMix on iTunes. I'm hooked. I especially loved the couple great piano arrangements there, but when I found this album I realized what a genious Glass truly is. True, this is not music for anyone, but if you enjoy it, do so without consideration for others' opinion. What I love about this choice in music is how I can sit down for an hour and listen to it while doing some other kind of work. This is minimalism, and it should be judged as such. I give five stars simply because I was between a 4 and a 5, but thought Aleck Karis was getting a little more crap than he deserved on his interpretation of Philip Glass.
Uninspired playing and bad recording ...
I'm not a diehard, but I like Philip Glass' music well enough to have made others interested in it. This album does not have the "depth" to drone out the noise in the office. But yesterday I listened to it almost on the lowest possible volume on my mp3 player in a quiet room, and it was phantastic. In that way it develops quite a "volume". Aleck Karis really gets a lot out of his instrument.
I thought "Mad Rush" and "Wichita Vortex Sutra" worked very well on my basic classical playlist. Admittedly haven't digested "Metamorphoses" yet. Can't imagine how Karis is supposed to play the stuff that would bring it more to life, and I'm not really into Glass's large-scale works. For me this is probably the perfect dosage.
i disagree with the previous review to a certain extent. certainly a single solo piano lacks the timbral dynamism of an orchestra or electronic instrument, but isn't that simplicity part of the appeal? it is for me. moreover, i think that Aleck Karis' performances of these pieces are lack-lustre at best, reducing these: my favourite of all Philip Glass works (the Metamorphosis series and Mad Rush in particular) to pale reflections of the achievements he has made with alternative orchestrations. that being said: these early-to-mid career solo clavier works by Glass are fairly hard to find on cd or digitally (in my experience), and as such represent at least the possibility for a fan to hear approximations of these great harmonic studies . . . and all with the convenience offered here-in.
I am a Glass fan, but with the limited timbral effects available on the piano, this music doesn't come alive. Glass does best when writing for small chamber ensembles with electronic keyboards. Next best is orchestral. Piano finished last based on this album. Only for diehard Glass fans.
