PACIFIC SYMPHONY AND LONG BEACH OPERA JOIN FORCES FOR PHILIP GLASS FESTIVAL,” FEATURING OPERA, CONCERTS, PIANO RECITAL, FILMS, LECTURES, MORE—FEB. 27-MARCH 27
LBO’s Glass programs and Symphony’s 11th American Composers Festival—“The Passion of Philip Glass”—together explore in-depth one of today’s most influential and fascinating composers and his music Heart of the Festival includes Symphony’s concerts featuring “The Passion of Ramakrishna” and LBO’s opera, “Akhnaten” Ancillary events include Symphony’s piano recital, “Glass Plays Glass”; LBO’s presentations of the Qatsi Film Trilogy and “An Afternoon with Philip Glass” in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Symphony’s “Behind the Score: The Illusionist,” in collaboration with Newport Beach Film Festival, featuring a discussion with the composer; plus lectures and discussions
One of America’s most fascinating and pre-eminent living composers—Philip Glass—goes under the microscope when Pacific Symphony partners with Long Beach Opera (LBO) to present the first-ever Southern California Philip Glass Festival. Both the Symphony’s 11th American Composers Festival (ACF)—“The Passion of Philip Glass”—and LBO’s production of the Glass opera “Akhnaten,” and accompanying events (films, lectures, discussions) probe deeply into the man and his music. There are myriad reasons for choosing Glass as a subject worthy of so much attention, beginning with the fact that the composer has made a tremendous impact on the American musical vocabulary. And while this prolific composer’s music is most closely associated with the Minimalist school, he has written in numerous different genres, drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources, while retaining an immediately identifiable style. For information on the festival, visit: PhilipGlassFestival.com.
In addition to LBO’s production of the opera, “Akhnaten,” and the Symphony’s main concerts featuring “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” the Glass Festival includes the Symphony’s solo piano recital “Glass Plays Glass”; films scored by Glass: “Koyaanisqatsi,” “Powaqqatsi,” and “Naqoyqatsi,” presented by LBO, and “The Illusionist,” presented by the Symphony in collaboration with Newport Beach Film Festival. LBO also offers a lecture on “Akhnaten and his World” at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and “An Afternoon with Philip Glass” exploring the opera “Akhnaten” at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art (LACMA). A number of the events include an in-person discussion with the composer.
For tickets or more information on the Symphony’s ACF 2011 featuring Glass, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org/ACF; for tickets or more information on LBO’s Glass opera and events: call (562) 432-5934 or LongBeachOpera.org
American Composers Festival
The unifying theme for the Symphony’s 2011 ACF, led by St.Clair, is the influence that India’s music and philosophy have had on Glass. The Festival focuses on the composer’s collaborations with Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, whom Glass first met in India in 1965. In 2006, Pacific Symphony co-commissioned with the Nashville Symphony a work from Glass for orchestra and chorus, “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” which received its world premiere at the gala opening of the Symphony’s home, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. This year’s ACF revisits this momentous work and presents complementary works from Glass’s oeuvre, with the goal of bringing this modern master to the greater attention of music patrons in Southern California.
Mixing Eastern and Western traditions, Glass’ heroic musical homage to a simple Hindu holy man paints an exquisite symphonic and choral picture of India emerging from centuries of foreign domination. Glass’s concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra rounds out this south Asian odyssey. ACF 2011 is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music.
ACF’s Programming
The Symphony’s ACF begins March 10-12, 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, with St.Clair conducting “The Passion of Philip Glass,” a concert featuring Christópheren Nomura, baritone; Prism Quartet, saxophones; Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano; and Kevin Deas, bass-baritone. The concert begins with an excerpt from “Meetings Along the Edge” from “Passages,” a 1990 collaboration between Glass and Shankar, with each having written arrangements around themes created by the other. The program also includes one of Glass’ most performed concertos, for saxophone quartet and orchestra, composed for the Rascher Saxophone Quartet in 1995. The concert rounds out with Glass’s epic “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” and includes pre- and post-concert talks with Glass and St.Clair.
Glass, who spent a great deal of time traveling in India during the middle years of his life, says he had long known about the Gospel of Ramakrishna, which he calls “a classic book, written in a beautiful style.” Along with Nadia Boulanger, Glass claims that Ravi Shankar is the most important person he has ever worked with.
On Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m., in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, St.Clair and the orchestra further explore the “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” Glass’s symphonic tribute to the 19th century Indian spiritual leader, during Classical Connections, an informative and relaxed Sunday afternoon conversation and performance
The ancillary event, “Glass Plays Glass,” takes place Monday, March 14, at 8 p.m. in the Samueli Theater, and features an evening of solo piano music composed and performed by Glass. The exact selections are not entirely known at this time, but Glass plans to include several movements of his Études for solo piano.
ACF 2011 continues when the Symphony partners for a second time with Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) to present “Behind the Score: The Illusionist.” Glass provided the soundtrack for the 2006 mystery/thriller, “The Illusionist,” and this event features a screening of the film and panel discussion with the composer. The event takes place on Sunday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at the historic Regency Lido Theater in Newport Beach. A supernatural mystery that combines romance, politics and magic, “The Illusionist” stars Academy-Award nominees Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti as two men pitted against each other in a battle of wits.
Long Beach Opera: Focus on Glass
Although in its 32nd season, LBO, the oldest opera company in the Los Angeles/Orange County metropolitan area, enjoys staying young and current. LBO is known both nationally and internationally for going where others dare not go and the innovative company excels in taking its audiences on new musical adventures. One way for LBO to stay current is to present modern composers and newer works.
Long Beach Opera Festival Programming
LBO opens Philip Glass Festival events on Sunday, Feb. 27, with the screening of “Koyaanisqatsi,” followed by later screenings of “Powaqqatsi” and “Naqoyqatsi.” The three films form the Qatsi Trilogy, one of the world’s most significant fusions of music and cinematography. With breathtakingly beautiful images and visually stimulating Glass scores, these magnificent films depict the world’s harsh transition from the naturalism of the early 20th century to the technological advances of the 21st. Mitisek says, “In most other movies, the music simply ‘underscores’ the emotions, the story. In the Qatsi Trilogy, with only images and music—there is no spoken dialogue, the scores become the emotional essence of the narrative.”
“Koyaanisqatsi” (1982), the Hopi word for “Life Out of Balance,” screens Sunday, Feb. 27, at 11 a.m., at the Art Theatre of Long Beach. The first film of the trilogy is an apocalyptic vision of the natural world on a collision course with modern technology and industrialization. Glass writes that the score “grew out of the instrumental style of keyboards, winds, and voice…the movement of the film from the organic images of the American southwest to the hi-tech accelerated life of modern North American cities was reflected in my version of modern synthesized music.” A winner of a Golden Globe Award, “Koyaanisqatsi” has been selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. Powaqqatsi” (1988), the Hopi word for Life in Transformation, screens Sunday, March 6, at 11 a.m., at the Art Theatre of Long Beach. The film takes viewers on a journey through Third World cultures as their societies are progressively pushed towards and rapidly impacted by the technological advances of the industrial world. Life as War, screens Sunday, March 20, at 11 a.m., at the Art Theatre of Long Beach. In the final film of the trilogy, almost every frame is a computer-generated effect and audiences see the world through the lens of technology itself.
Next, LBO in collaboration with UCLA Egyptology offers an archaeological overview of “Akhnaten and His World,” on Saturday, March 5, from 2-4:30 p.m., at UCLA’s Lenart Auditorium, North Campus. Archaeologists have only recently solved some of the mysteries surrounding Pharaoh Akhnaten, the man who originated the idea of monotheism. New discoveries have shed light on his attempts to change the beliefs of his time in religion, politics, and art; the dire consequences of his actions; and his son and successor King Tutankhamun’s return to traditional ways. The tumultuous period of Akhnaten’s reign will be revealed in the afternoon’s lectures: “Who was Akhnaten?,” “Discovering Akhnaten,” Akhnaten’s Religion,” and “Art and Akhnaten.”
On Saturday, March 12, 2-4:30 p.m., LBO in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents “An Afternoon with Philip Glass” at the Museum. LBO Director Mitisek and composer Philip Glass discuss the West Coast premiere of Glass’ spectacular “Akhnaten,” and singers from the cast perform excerpts from the opera. An audience Q & A follows the discussion. In the second half of the program, concert pianist Michele Schumann performs a selection of Glass works.
The long-awaited West Coast premiere of the fully staged and orchestrated opera, “Akhnaten,” takes place March 19, at 7:30 p.m. and March 27, at 2 p.m., at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: PHILIP GLASS FESTIVAL 2011
LBOpera Cinema – Part One of the Qatsi Trilogy
KOYAANISQATSI: LIFE OUT OF BALANCE
Sunday, February 27, 11 a.m.
Art Theatre of Long Beach
Music by Philip Glass
Directed by Godfrey Reggio
Sweeping images of the natural environment colliding with the industrial world are fused with Glass’ modern synthesized music leaving viewers breathlessly floating through time and space. The imbalance of Nature and modern society is reflected in a score of keyboards, winds, and voice.
AKHNATEN AND HIS WORLD
LBO and UCLA Egyptology
Saturday, March 5, 2-4:15 p.m.
UCLA, Lenart Auditorium, North Campus
The mysteries of Akhnaten and the society he tried to change are explained as professors and faculty from UCLA’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Culture (NELC)/ Cotsen Institute of Archaeology present recently discovered information about this revolutionary man and his times.
Who was Akhnaten? – Professor Kara Cooney
Discovering Akhnaten – Professor Willeke
Akhnaten’s Religion – Eric Wells
Art and Akhnaten – Anne Austin
LBOpera Cinema – Part Two of the Qatsi Trilogy
POWAQQATSI:LIFE IN TRANSITION
Sunday, March 6, 11 a.m.
Art Theatre of Long Beach
Music by Philip Glass
Directed by Godfrey Reggio
A celebration of traditional culture, this moving film travels to Third World societies thrown into the path of industrialization and modern technology, forces which are forever transforming their ways of life. The score combines the sound of synthesizers with an orchestra while native instruments are heard throughout and human voices from the Third World rise in song.
American Composer’s Festival 2011
THE PASSION OF PHILIP GLASS
Thursday- Saturday, March 10-12, 8 p.m.
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Mixing Eastern and Western traditions, Philip Glass’ heroic musical homage to a simple Hindu holy man paints an exquisite symphonic and choral picture of India emerging from centuries of foreign domination. Glass saxophone concerto, as well as a piece co-composed by Glass and Ravi Shankar, fill out this south Asian odyssey.
Carl St.Clair, conductor
Philip Glass, composer
Prism Quartet, saxophone
Janice Chandler Eteme, soprano
Kevin Deas, baritone
Christópheren Nomura, baritone
Pacific Chorale — John Alexander, artistic director
Program includes:
Glass and Shankar: Meetings Along the Edge from “Passages”
Glass: Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra
Glass: The Passion of Ramakrishna
AN AFTERNOON WITH PHILIP GLASS
LBO and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Saturday, March 12, 2 – 4:30 p.m.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LBO Director Andreas Mitisek and Philip Glass join in a lively discussion of the composer’s spectacular opera, “Akhnaten.” Audience members are invited to participate with their own questions during a Q & A. Cast members sing selections from the opera and concert pianist Michelle Schumann plays Glass compositions.
American Composers Festival 2011
THE PASSION OF RAMAKRISHNA
Sunday, March 13, 3 p.m.
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Carl St.Clair, conductor and host
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Christópheren Nomura, baritone
Kevin Deas, bass-baritone
Pacific Chorale, John Alexander, artistic director
Glass: The Passion of Ramakrishna
Music Director Carl St.Clair further explores the “The Passion of Ramakrishna,” Philip Glass’s symphonic and choral tribute to the 19th century Indian spiritual leader, during Pacific Symphony’s Classical Connections, an informative and relaxed Sunday afternoon conversation and performance.
American Composers Festival 2011
GLASS PLAYS GLASS
Monday, March 14, 8 p.m.
Samueli Theater
Philip Glass has had a long history of performing his own music, being among the first of a new generation of composer/performers. To Glass, piano music is something intimate. His performances are not in the virtuoso concert-hall tradition of Liszt or Rachmaninoff. Rather, they might be viewed as part of the fading American tradition of the piano as a familiar, shared experience of simple, tuneful music.
AKHNATEN, an opera in 3 acts
Saturday, March 19, 7:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 27, 2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center
Music by Philip Glass
Libretto by Philip Glass in association with Shalom Goldman, Robert Israel, and Richard Riddell
Sung in Egyptian, Akkadian, Hebrew, and English with English supertitles
Completing the opera trilogy which began with “Einstein on the Beach” and “Satyagraha,” Glass explores the rise and fall of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhnaten and how his inner vision changed the world. The texts are drawn from ancient decrees, texts, and poems of the Amarna period sung in their original languages. Glass explains, “In Akhnaten, my emphasis is orchestral, with choral and solo voices sharing common ground with the orchestra.” Director Mitisek gives a pre-opera talk one-hour before performances.
American Composers Festival 2011
BEHIND THE SCORE: “THE ILLUSIONIST”
Pacific Symphony and Newport Beach Film Festival
Sunday, March 13, 7 p.m.
Regency Lido Theater
Pacific Symphony’s American Composers Festival (ACF) in partnership with the Newport Beach Film Festival, presents: Behind the Score: “The Illusionist.” This special screening of the Philip Glass-scored movie “The Illusionist” includes an in-person Q & A with the film’s composer Philip Glass.
LBOpera Cinema – Part Three of the Qatsi Trilogy
NAQOYQATSI: LIFE AS WAR
Sunday, March 20, 11 a.m.
Art Theatre of Long Beach
Music by Philip Glass
Directed by Godfrey Reggio
The aggressive pace of modern technology is depicted with enhanced imagery in what Director Reggio call “virtual cinema.” According to Glass, “The ‘civilized violence’ in the narrative of this film goes beyond anything seen in the preceding two films…” The score balances the effect of the startling images with a “sound world of ‘natural’ timbres” and features the superb cello of Yo-Yo Ma.
