Unlike
my previous post of Philip Glass's music, which was intended to act as a primer
for anyone who was unfamiliar with his work, this one is probably for fans
only, as it is one of his earliest and most uncompromising works. On 31st
October 2017, Slovakia's Cluster Ensemble performed Glass’s minimalist masterpiece 'Music With Changing Parts' for the first time in New York City
in several decades. The ensemble’s unique take on the this work utilized live
video made of digitized fragments of a dance performance, and was a spell-binding interpretation of the piece.
Formed in 2009 in Bratislava, Slovakia, Cluster Ensemble is comprised of nine members
playing three electric organs, flute, clarinet, saxophone, electric
guitar, marimba and VJ. The ensemble originated with the Slovakian premiere of
Steve Reich’s 'Six Pianos', performed in a piano store in
Bratislava. Since then, the loose grouping of artists surrounding the artistic
duo of Ivan Šiller and Fero Király have played all over the world,
including Austria, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and the United States, performing rarely-played ensemble works by composers such as
Philip Glass, Steve Reich and John Cage, as well as their own projects. Fans of Philip Glass will find this a stunning interpretation of the piece, and while one hour and twelve minutes of minimalist repetition might not be everyone's cup of tea, I've played this at least once a week since I first got hold of it, and have enjoyed every minute.
