String Quartet No. 1 (1966). Philip Glass /filling up with phil (and phill)/

Our startup was purchased a couple of months ago, I now commute to North San Jose by car rather than to downtown San Jose by train and I find myself responding more than ever to the repetitive, incessant, urbanist techniques of Philip Glass.

However, the first movement of his String Quartet No. 1 is probably the least representative of his works. Although even here, where the piece is slow and sparse and with no arpeggios in sight, the music nonetheless exhibits a drive and forward focus.

My new pet theory, coming to me as I waited in the Highway 237/101/85 quagmire (tonight anyway), is that Philip Glass, despite his mindful and zen-like behavior, is a guy in a hurry -- in a hurry to get to the end of the piece and in a hurry to compose as much music as he can. This compares to the static approach of say, Phill Niblock.

Regardless, both Phil and Phill like it loud which is probably a sixties thing and makes their music suitable for playing on my commute.

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• phil: foxytunes. last.fm. list of his recent heavy listeners on last.fm (i'm eastmp). string quartet no. 1 official page. 1937 birthplace.
• phill: foxytunes. last.fm. five more string quartets on rhapsody. sethwork stream from other minds concert. phill's sun ra film on youtube. 1933 birthplace.
• photo via google maps

Comments

[Daniel Wolf]

Well, Glass is a Tibetan Buddhist and not a Zen Buddhist, and the Tibetans, with their prayer wheels automating their spiritual work, might well be thought of as being somewhat in a hurry.

[Robert Gable]

With Peter Lieberson being another notable composer and Tibetan Buddhist...

[brd]

I have been listening to Glass on and off for my commute during the past 6 months. My particular favorite has been "the CIVIL warS." I am drawn to it over and over, over, over, over, over, (oh sorry) again.

[William Jason Raynovich]

Where did you get a recording of Glass's first string quartet? I would like to consider performing it, but I want to hear the work first.