Not Such A Low Point

Sometimes revisiting disks I haven't played for a long time during this exercise has thrown up pleasant surprises and confounded my expectations. A case in point here is "Low" Symphony by Philip Glass from the music of David Bowie and Brian Eno. I have begun to find that a little Philip Glass goes a very long way and when taking this disk in rotation from the shelf was expecting a slightly opportunistic and pretentious project to attempt to appeal to a broader audience on Glass's part and to get arty kudos from Bowie ( Eno already has such cachet I suggest ) However, I found it to be an interesting and engaging piece, despite my incredulity on the occasions when the trademark Glass pulsing strings make their inevitable entrances. How does he get away with that almost manic obssesive repetition ? Despite that, there is enough orchestral colour of a more unusual kind for Glass from the brass particularly. And the melodic material is of interest, though presumably that is more to do with Bowie / Eno. The other advantage the disk has is that of brevity ( as in "a little Glass goes a long way" ) With the symphony being the only work featured and lasting just over forty minutes, it doesn't outstay its' welcome. The performers on the disk are the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.