Einstein of the Beat
I’m still in a trance … what a phenomenal performance. The Philip Glass Ensemble greatly exceeded my expectations, which were quite high to begin with. I closed my eyes and let them take me on a voyage deep into the crevices of the composer’s nimble mind.
I didn’t realize Glass himself would still be performing and leading the ensemble, that was a very pleasant surprise. 70 spins around the sun don’t seem to have compromised his fingers in the slightest.
I was also amazed by the acoustics. I mean I’ve been in the Schermerhorn numerous times now, but my roots remain electric and this was my first opportunity to hear an amplified electric performance in the space — and there just aren’t words. Sound crashed and cascaded all around me. Of course it helped that I had an amazing seat — just one seat to the right of dead center in the second row of the “Founder’s Circle” level. Worth Every Penny.
I then had the immense privilege of attending an after-show reception where we got to meet Mr. Glass and I got the John Hancock pictured above. Just for some context — I’ve met a small handful of famous and semi-famous musicians, and never bothered for an autograph or otherwise fawned — I’m not generally fazed by celebrity. Genius, on the other hand — well all I could do was meekly thank him and humbly bow.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention how much I also enjoyed hearing the Nashville Symphony perform his latest piece (co-commissioned by the NSO), The Passion of Ramakrishna, on Friday. It would have gotten a post of its own had Sunday not dwarfed it : )
