PHILIP GLASS (b. 1937)

GLASS ESSENTIALS
AN 80^TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE

NICOLAS HORVATH, Piano

This compilation on vinyl celebrates Philip Glass’ 80th birthday through his unique contribution to the solo piano repertoire. It features a selection of the intricately melodic Etudes which are both technique-expanding and intimately personal statements. Glass’ importance as a film composer is shown in two excerpts from the BAFTA-winning score for The Hours, and Metamorphosis Two which derives from music for the 1988 film The Thin Blue Line. The only transcription Glass is known to have made, of Paul Simon’s The Sound of Silence, is heard in its only recording. Music in Fifths – which Steve Reich called “like a freight train” – dates from his experimental years and is full of a mesmerising variety of pulse patterns.

Buy now

About this Recording

This compilation celebrates Philip Glass’ 80th birthday through his unique contribution to the solo piano repertoire. It includes the sweepingly diverse and intricately melodic Etudes which are both technique-expanding and also intimately personal statements. His importance as a fi lm composer is shown in the subtle power of his transcriptions from stage and screen music, Metamorphosis I-V, and in his BAFTA-winning score for the The Hours. And Music in Fifths – which Steve Reich called “like a freight train” – dates from his experimental years and is full of a mesmerising variety of pulse patterns.

NICOLAS HORVATH

An unusual artist with an unconventional résumé, pianist Nicolas Horvath began his music studies at the Académie de Musique Prince Rainier III de Monaco. Aged 16, he caught the attention of the American conductor Lawrence Foster who helped him to secure a three year scholarship from the Princess Grace Foundation in order to further his studies. His mentors include a number of distinguished international pianists, including Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Gérard Frémy, Eric Heidsieck, Gabriel Tacchino, Nelson Delle-Vigne, Philippe Entremont, Oxana Yablonskaya and Liszt specialist Leslie Howard. (It was Howard who invited him to perform for the Liszt Society in the United Kingdom, helping to lay the foundations for Horvath’s current recognition as a leading interpreter of Liszt’s music.) He is the holder of a number of awards, including First Prize of the Scriabin and the Luigi Nono International Competitions.