Philip Glass' Book of Longing
This post has been delayed for a couple of weeks but I guess it's never too late. I'm talking about Philip Glass' concert here in Athens of his recent collaboration with Leonard Cohen on Book of Longing.
The whole idea revolves around poetry and sketches/drawings of Leonard Cohen that inspired Glass' compositions. Both artists have created amazing work in the past and are considered big influences for dozens of other artists. So it was bound that our exceptions were quite high, although I'm not the biggest fan of this kind of music (but I always like to keep my senses open to different sounds). However, the night proved us wrong.
Book of Longing does have some nice moments, but in general it is an unimpressive compilation of compositions that are by far one of Glass' worst outtakes. A mix of musical, a mix of classic and contemporary compositions (for which Glass has been praised for in the past) and a set of drawings (mostly self-portraits) by Cohen that are somewhat childish. In all honesty, most people (including myself) where bored half-way in the concert and were looking forward to the end of the night rather to the next songs. While the artists on stage were more than talented and tried to make the best out of it, the quality of the compositions where too weak to sustain interest. The four singers were constantly changing places in a well choreographed (theatrical) form, which however didn't add much either. This was perhaps one of our last chances to see the genius of Glass live on stage, but to our true disappointment, we got a glimpse of his talent on one of his worst times. Nevertheless, we still respect his previous work so we'll keep that in mind and try to quickly erase the night from our memories.
The whole idea revolves around poetry and sketches/drawings of Leonard Cohen that inspired Glass' compositions. Both artists have created amazing work in the past and are considered big influences for dozens of other artists. So it was bound that our exceptions were quite high, although I'm not the biggest fan of this kind of music (but I always like to keep my senses open to different sounds). However, the night proved us wrong.
Book of Longing does have some nice moments, but in general it is an unimpressive compilation of compositions that are by far one of Glass' worst outtakes. A mix of musical, a mix of classic and contemporary compositions (for which Glass has been praised for in the past) and a set of drawings (mostly self-portraits) by Cohen that are somewhat childish. In all honesty, most people (including myself) where bored half-way in the concert and were looking forward to the end of the night rather to the next songs. While the artists on stage were more than talented and tried to make the best out of it, the quality of the compositions where too weak to sustain interest. The four singers were constantly changing places in a well choreographed (theatrical) form, which however didn't add much either. This was perhaps one of our last chances to see the genius of Glass live on stage, but to our true disappointment, we got a glimpse of his talent on one of his worst times. Nevertheless, we still respect his previous work so we'll keep that in mind and try to quickly erase the night from our memories.
Philip Glass + Leonard Cohen - Prologue: I can't make the Hills
τόσο καλά, ε?
Να πω την αλήθεια, ούτε και τα παλιά του PG με τρέλαναν πολύ.
Νot my cup of tea, όπως λένε οι φίλοι μου οι Άγγλοι.
neither mine..αλλά είπα να δοκιμάσω για αλλαγή...αλλά η πολύ κουλτούρα δεν με πάει :-)
έτσι river....γιατί εμείς είμαστε παιδιά του λαού να'ούμ! :))