It's been said of Philip Glass and J.S. Bach that each is a composer’s composer. Structure and architecture for both, it is thought, count for more than instrumentation or color. Yet beneath all this measured precision lie depths of spiritual rapture, hypnotic trance, and timeless serenity. Michael Century presents a thought-provoking mashup of the two composers, interleaving six of Glass’s Piano Etudes with the same number of movements selected from Bach’s keyboard works.

Program

Glass   Etude #6 in F minor

Bach    Sinfonia, Partita in C minor

Glass   Etude #2 in C major

Bach    Fugue in C major, Book I Well Tempered Clavier

Glass   Etude #11 in C minor

Pause

Bach    Prelude and Fugue in D major, Book II Well Tempered Clavier

Glass   Etude #15 in D major

Bach    Art of Fugue, Contrapunctus #9

Pause

Glass   Etude #7 in A minor 

Bach    Adagio from BWV 564 (Arranged by Busoni)

Glass   Etude #16 in G minor

Bach   Corrente, Partita in E minor

Glass   Satyagraha Act III, Conclusion. (Arranged by Reisman)

Bio

Michael Century, pianist, accordionist, and cultural historian, is Professor of New Media and Music in the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Musically at home in classical, contemporary, and improvisational settings, Century has a passion for experimentation, often interweaving his music with visual images and creating software applications for live performance and interactive installations. Recent performances include the Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture, Stanford University’s CCRMA, Harvestworks Art and Technology Center on Governor’s Island NYC, and the Experimental Media and Performing Art Center in Troy, NY. https://www.nextcentury.ca/biography-michael-century