In the inaugural episode of the BAM podcast, Philip Glass and nine world-renowned pianists discuss his piano etudes and what makes them so remarkable and challenging to perform.
Glass, along with fellow composers Timo Andres, Anton Batagov, Tania Leon, and Nico Muhly; new music champion Bruce Levingston; loyal Glass interpreters Maki Namekawa and Sally Whitwell; jazz prodigy Aaron Diehl; and classical virtuoso Jenny Lin performed the etudes in a concert produced by Linda Brumbach and Pomegranate Arts during the BAM Next Wave Festival on December 5 and 6, 2014.
For more information, visit BAM.org/Etudes
There were a number of special events and commissions that facilitated the composition of the Etudes by Philip Glass. The original set of six were composed for Dennis Russell Davies on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 1994. These Etudes were later renumbered as Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10. Etude 6 was commissioned in 1994 by WNYC for John Schaefer’s new music program under the original title ‘Now So Long After That Time.' Etude 7 was commissioned by the Sydney Festival in 1996. Etudes 12 and 13 were commissioned by Bruce Levingston in 2007 and premiered in New York at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Etude 17 was commissioned for the 25th Anniversary of the Menil Collection in Houston, TX, and premiered in 2012. The final three works, Etudes 18, 19 and 20, were commissioned by the Perth Festival in 2012 in honor of Glass’s 75th birthday, and premiered on February 16, 2013.
This podcast was produced by Michael Simon Johnson, Claire Frisbie, Rachel Katwan, and Nick Schwartz-Hall. The music you hear throughout the podcast was recorded at BAM on December 5, 2015 by the pianists listed above, engineered by Dan Bora. Special thanks to Linda Brumbach and Alisa Regas and everyone at Pomegranate Arts.
MANAGEMENT FOR THE LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE ETUDES AT BAM:
Lighting Assistant Ben Ehrenreich
Stage Manager Jason Kaiser
Live Sound Mix Dan Bora
Assistant to Philip Glass Jim Woodard
Page-turner Tobe Tsuchiya
Philip Glass’ The Etudes is produced and represented by Pomegranate Arts:
pomegranatearts.com
info@pomarts.com
Founder and President Linda Brumbach
Managing Director, Creative Alisa E. Regas
Managing Director, Operations Kaleb Kilkenny
Associate General Manager Linsey Bostwick
Company Management Associate Katie Ichtertz
Office Manager Susannah Gruder
Production Interns Sebastian Lambertz, Annie Moorhead
Philip Glass is managed and published by Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc.:
philipglass.com
info@dunvagen.com
Director Jim Keller
Licensing Coordinator Drew Smith
Release date:
22 February 2015
