Philip Glass - Johannes Kepler

[tusenfem]

Darn, that's cool!

I just received a pre-birthday present. My boyfriend just gave me tickets to the premiere of Kepler, the new opera by Philip Glass (http://philipglass.typepad.com/glass_notes/2008/09/kepler-2009.html). One of my favorite composers and an astronomical topic!

Now I just have to wait until septemberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Nicolas]

Cool!

Are you familiar with Mike Oldfield's version of North Star?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu7VIfxBRaM&feature=related

David Bedford also was involved, as far as I know he wrote the extension to the vocal chords.

Funny coincide: Glass just made an opera with an astronomical topic, while Oldfield just made a classical album with an astronomical (well, more astrological) topic: Music of the Spheres.

I like some of Glass's work, but not all of it. Some of it is too repetitive for me. I'm more a fan of more melodic, evolving pieces of music such as this interpretation of North Star or the works of other (ex-)minimalists such as Wim Mertens. I've got an MC of a Philip Glass album on which people such as Suzanne Vega sing. I like that one. Likely because that one isn't the very raw repetitive minimalism. I've borrowed some Glass albums from my brother once, but I forgot which ones were the ones I liked :).

Have fun!

[kleindoofy]

... the premiere of Kepler, the new opera by Philip Glass ...
Ahhh, minimal meets minimal. Cool.

[eric_marsh]

Be sure to post a review.

I've seen Glass a couple of times, once with the Kronos Quartet doing live music for a screening the Bela Lugosi Dracula. I've always liked his music.

[ngc3314]

By the way - this isn't the first Keplerian opera. Hindemith's Harmonie der Welt explores issues from Kepler's life and work. I see that there are now recordings of the whole thing available - for a long time one could only find the instrumental setting of themes from it. (Themes which were the first I knew of it as a brass player, encountering some in a book of orchestral excerpts). Hindemith and Glass - there could be more disparate composers working from common material, but still, a pretty interesting contrast...

[tusenfem]

Be sure to post a review.

I've seen Glass a couple of times, once with the Kronos Quartet doing live music for a screening the Bela Lugosi Dracula. I've always liked his music.


Ahhh that was sooooooo cool at UCLA!

For the rest I have seen
Koyaanisqatsi life 2 times
1000 Airplanes on the roof
Some random stuff in Utrecht by the P.G. ensemble

And then some of PG's "brother" Steve Reich.

[tusenfem]

By the way - this isn't the first Keplerian opera. Hindemith's Harmonie der Welt explores issues from Kepler's life and work. I see that there are now recordings of the whole thing available - for a long time one could only find the instrumental setting of themes from it. (Themes which were the first I knew of it as a brass player, encountering some in a book of orchestral excerpts). Hindemith and Glass - there could be more disparate composers working from common material, but still, a pretty interesting contrast...

Mmmm Hindemith, I like! Got to go and look for that.