“Three years to the day after the death of David Bowie, two eminences of American music will come together in Los Angeles to pay tribute,” writes Zachary Woolfe in Wednesday’s (1/9) New York Times. “John Adams is set to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the premiere of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 12, ‘Lodger’ … on Thursday. The work is inspired by Bowie’s 1979 album collaboration with Brian Eno and the producer Tony Visconti … Q: How did this symphony come about? Glass: It’s part of a commitment I had made to David Bowie and Brian Eno to take three of their records and turn them into symphonies. In ‘Lodger,’ to me the most interesting thing was the lyrics … written … when David was living in Berlin. Adams: A really great text … produces the best music.… American music is the total bleed-through of … high or low, popular versus art. I think both Philip and I share this. Q: Is Philip’s music tough to conduct? Adams: It’s not hard to conduct on a technical level. I think the challenge is creating a sound…. You have a steady build and a long line.”
Posted January 10, 2019
