Philip Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2, 'American Four Seasons'; Violin Sonata
Naxos

Philip Glass's output has evidenced a gradual convergence between the style that brought him initial attention (some might say notoriety) and traditional classical music, a perfect illustration his second violin concerto—even if it was American violinist Robert McDuffie who first pitched the idea of an ‘American Four Seasons' to the composer. Having been suitably captivated by Gidon Kremer's recording of Glass's 1987 Violin Concerto No. 1 (and after recording his own treatment in 1998), McDuffie approached the composer with the idea of a sequel that could be programmed with Vivaldi's classic and provide an in-concert study in contrast. Written in 2009, the resultant composition is a fascinating piece that by design evokes the Baroque spirit of the early eighteenth-century violin tradition whilst retaining Glass's indelible signature.

Structurally, the work's distinctive: responding to the conventional coupling of movements and cadenzas, Glass precedes each of the four movements with a solo part (a “Prelude” and three “Songs”), such that the work alternates between unaccompanied violin solos and orchestrated movements. For the latter, Glass augments the violinist with string orchestra and synthesizer, the latter customized to simulate the harpsichord used in the traditional Baroque concerto. Into that design, the composer's trademark arpeggios and ostinatos are woven, making for a work that's equal parts Baroque and Glass. Another interesting detail about the concerto is that, unlike Vivaldi, Glass chose not to identify the season each movement evokes, preferring to leave it in the listener's hands. On this hour-long release, Polish-born violinist Piotr Plawner performs the concerto as well as the Violin Sonata, with the Bern Chamber Orchestra and conductor Philippe Bach featured in the first and Argentine pianist Gerardo Vila piano joining the violinist for the second.

The concerto's “Prologue” makes a brief but memorable statement thanks to Plawner's eloquent expressions, but the concerto really takes hold with the advent of the first movement, the violinist here accompanied by a buoyant backdrop of sweeping strings and bouncy harpsichord-like patterns. The soloist's virtuosity is called upon in the inclusion of double stops and rapturous melodies, the breeziness of the material suggesting Glass might have had spring in mind as the season; equally impressive is the violinist's handling of the unaccompanied sections, Plawner's technical command used to full advantage in giving voice to the lyrical material. Opening and closing in cantilena form, the eleven-minute second movement advances regally through its opening minutes, the music's sombre tone suggesting winter as the seasonal theme. Never staying in one place for too long, the music progresses into livelier passages, Glass's signature arpeggios solidly in place alongside luscious strings in what's arguably the work's most moving movement. Whereas the music turns aggressive for the storm-tossed third, with the strings surging, the rhythms pounding, and Plawner's playing at its most devilish, it pushes even harder in the torrential fourth, which takes the work out on unrelenting waves of high-energy rhythms. There's much to take away from the presentation, first and foremost the violinist's bravura performance.

Composed a year before the Violin Concerto No. 2, 2008's Violin Sonata is a natural partner to it for the recording, even if its comparatively modest two-instrument arrangement makes it the less striking of the two. If the concerto references Vivaldi (if indirectly), the sonata in its melodic and harmonic details evokes violin-and-piano sonatas by Brahms, Fauré, and Franck—but for good reason, Glass revealing that an early favourite memory involved listening to masterpieces of nineteenth-century chamber music with his father, who had a small record shop in Baltimore and regularly brought 78-rpm albums home to listen to. The energized first and third movements are both suitably dazzling and characteristically Glass-like in their stabbing melodic gestures and runs, but it's the central slow movement that's the most affecting, with Plawner and Vila sensitively bringing into focus the lyrical quality of Glass's material.

Born in 1937, Glass is now an elder statesman with a staggering amount of creative material behind him. The two pieces presented on this release are certainly substantial additions to that body of work, the concerto especially, even if they're not the ones he'll be most remembered for years from now. Nevertheless, Glass devotees wishing to arm themselves against his detractors could find much to use here by way of ammunition if they were so inclined, the concerto's poignant second movement and elegiac “Song no. 3” offering optimal starting points.

April 2020