When
Philip Glass announced his next work would be based on works from the classic
Brian Eno/
David Bowie album
Low, critics assumed that
Glass was running out of ideas and that he'd just run some of his patented major-scale runs underneath some recognizable
pop music, another example of that darned modern music trying to be cool like
rock. But
Low Symphony actually works (and haven't
classical composers always copped melodies from popular tunes?), with
Glass focusing on three pieces and exploring and expanding on the ideas within. The opening,
"Subterraneans," maintains the meandering but tense feel of the original. When percussion builds in the mix, it suggests a resolution, but none comes. The middle movement is more of a revelation, based on a bonus track,
"Some Are," that only made it to the
Rykodisc pressings of
Low. The original was more of a sketch, a half-whispered song backed by minimal piano and atmospherics.
Glass resurrects this song and whips it into a forceful, stirring number that makes the pulse race. Listeners unfamiliar with
Bowie's album may think it started out as an anthem. Finally,
"Warszawa" returns to replicating the original track, transcribing
Bowie's vocal for cello, bringing out a melody similar to
Prokofiev. Highly listenable compositions that do not pander to either side of the
pop/
classical divide. ~ Ted Mills