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Mad Rush (1979). Philip Glass /glass "on demand"/

Overly provocative image by Photo Giddy

My 7 day Rhapsody on iPhone trial will be ending soon. I'm thinking I won't actually subscribe, especially since there are hints of a lala iphone app at some point. Also, how many more obscure Bernard Herrmann soundtracks do I really need to listen to?

It took me awhile to drop my old iPod habits and adapt to what Rhapsody has to offer -- almost any music I can think of "on demand." No more planned playlists, PC syncs, curated queues etc. Instead, think of something to hear, search for it, and hit play.

Tonight, it's three different versions of Philip Glass' Mad Rush by Donald Joyce on organ and by Bruce Brubaker and Alek Karis respectively on piano. No forethought, no planning, no work, just instantly gratifying results (well, for this Philip Glass fan, anyway).

Mad Rush - Bruce Brubaker

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Mad Rush (1979). Philip Glass /music with changing reactions/

It's Philip Glass all weekend and as you might expect, results are mixed if still in flux.

• The Notes on a Scandal soundtrack was atmospheric and unengaging; why this doesn't even make good ambient music, I can't say.
• Dracula on the other hand merits more listening.
• From the Marin Alsop Naxos CD, Symphony No. 2 was better than Symphony No. 3. At first, I found the second movement of the latter disconcerting and maybe even ugly. Hey, where are the arpeggios? On second listen this morning, I can hear a more familiar rhythmic propulsion I didn't hear yesterday. The idea of unconventional Philip Glass music would be too much to bear at this point. Still, I could imagine this as say, an Alan Hovhaness outtake.
• Mad Rush by pianist Bruce Brubaker is the highlight so far.
• Listening consecutively to Music in Similiar Motion, Music in Contrary Motion, and  Music with Changing Parts  ( Music with Changing Parts (Part 1) by Philip Glass via Rhapsody - 25 free plays per month) results in a pleasant albeit blurred memory of all three.
• The Alter Ego recording is interesting and challenging. From 1968, 600 Lines is austere, rigorous and challenging but I will listen again; I haven't yet decided about 1967's Strung Out. The aforementioned motion music pieces are also on this CD.

Mad Rush (1981). Philip Glass /unexplained emotions/

I may be getting old or jaded but music has less of an emotional impact on me than it did twenty years ago. And then there's the music of Philip Glass:

The recent release of an old organ recording of Mad Rush never fails to make me sad and melancholic...

But Glass' Symphony No. 6 - Plutonium Ode never fails to annoy me, in a mish-mash kind of way...

And yet for whatever reason, I was mildly disappointed Philip Glass didn't win an Oscar last night, for a movie and soundtrack I haven't yet experienced...

Philip Glass as our most enigmatic composer?

tyler cowen: status-based smiling

Mad Rush (1979). Philip Glass

The music of Philip Glass has its detractors. But his piano music, especially by a talented interpreter, can be quite "musical."  Aleck Karis' version of Mad Rush, on Romeo Records, is quite good, as is Anthony Stalteri on materiali sonori.  There are at least six other recordings, including by the composer himself. Mad Rush is stylistically linked with other Glass pieces; Wichita Vortex Sutra and Metamorphosis.    The music contrasts between simple/subdued and the mad rush of arpeggios. Alex Christaki suggests Mad Rush is like the music of Schubert. It was originally written as an organ piece in honor of a visit by the Dalai Lama. The Glass Engine at philipglass.com has the full version.  If I read the "Glass Engine" correctly, compared to other Glass pieces, Mad Rush is sorrowful, joyful, and intense but not particularly dense.  "Spaceship" from Einstein on the Beach was most joyful; "Suffering" from Symphony No. 5 most sorrowful and most dense, "Opening the Kingdom" from Songs from Liquid Days most intense, and Act 3 Scene 2 from Akhnaten fastest. Amazon has a streaming sample of the organ version. Glasspages has a sample of the score. Weblog these clouds sees it as a reminder of 9/11:

And the ten minutes of Philip Glass' Mad Rush will always serve as a haunting reminder of the remains of the day and the days that followed.