There's Always That Damn Pulse

How does Philip Glass get away with it ? I know that over the centuries many composers have had stock in trade phrases and techniques that they have fallen back on but surely nobody has regurgitated the same thing so often and with such unrelenting consistency ? That same thing is represented on this disk by Symphony No 2 played by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies. Continually pulsing strings with slowly unfolding minimal melodies over the top. So why do I have the disk ? Well, in small doses and taken occasionally there remains something attractive, especially when given performances of quality. And the other two pieces on this disk do vary the straightjacketed theme a little. There is an Interlude from his opera Orphee played by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra which actually has a couple of melodies. And while the Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra can't resist pulsing in the background orchestral accompaniment from time to time, there are jazzy and lyrical moments for the players that are very fine indeed. The performers for this work are again the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Rascher Saxophone Quartet.