Dennis Russell Davies - Philip Glass: Symphony No. 8 (2006)

BAM! It's probably not the way you'd expect the Eighth Symphony from a composer often associated with altered, hypnotic states to begin. Glass' style has evolved significantly, though -- especially over the last few years. Speaking about his recent commission from the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Glass states, in his own liner notes, that the "the subject of the work is the language of music itself."
Glass, whether you love him or hate him, more than any other has a style that is not only easy to identify but completely unto his own. Compared to his early works, there is an abundance of thematic ideas and dramatic shifts of contour that permeate the dark palette of Glass' creation. There is still a flow that listeners familiar to the music will recognize as classic Glass, but there are more surprises -- more jolts, more twists and turns, and more harmonic adventure. There is a melancholic element here, too, in a way that is reminiscent of his film scores for The Hours and The Secret Agent.
After the initial shock, the first movement continues with some of Glass' traditional, pulsating three against two figures. The orchestration is somewhat different, though; haunting writing for the brass toward the end is superimposed over extensive use of percussion, in a way that is not altogether unlike Bartók's orchestral writing in the Concerto for Orchestra. In fact, the second movement begins with a pulsating figure strikingly similar to the ominous opening of the "Elegy" of Bartók's masterpiece. Further ironic, then, that this movement also bears some homage to Shostakovich; a passage scored for flute and harp is hauntingly similar to a passage found in the coda of the first movement of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony (although in Shostakovich's case, he uses the celesta instead). All things said, it works -- this fusion of styles, from twentieth century masters to the Eastern influence so prominent in Glass, combines to craft a work that is ultimately convincing and moving -- especially that eerie second at the end of the final movement.
This recording takes advantage of Dennis Russell Davies' long-standing relationship with the composer, a charming photographic memento of which is featured on the album cover. The Bruckner Orchester Linz is excellent; the woodwinds perform Glass' more virtuosic moments with seeming ease, and the lush string harmony that Glass writes here certainly benefits from the warmth and resonance of all of those five string double basses pictured. The clear sound quality helps to make for a satisfying listen. A must-have for Glass fans and a good disc for skeptics to reconsider this oft-marginalized composers work.