Philip Glass - Metamorphosis; The Hours - Lavinia Meijer (2012) / AvaxHome

Since their first encounter in May 2011, Lavinia Meijer has worked with some frequency with Philip Glass, even though he has never written solo works specifically for the harp. However, many of his piano works and piano transcriptions, after minor adjustments, prove to be well suited to the modern pedal harp. Initially, Lavinia Meijer added Glass's five movement Metamorphosis to her repertoire, on the instigation of the undersigned, the Amsterdam gallery owner Robert Malasch and the American composer himself. After a first and successful performance (in the composer's presence) in the Amsterdam 'pop temple' The Melkweg, a first official recording was made for Channel Classics in June 2011 in the Dutch town of Schiedam. Since this recording was exclusively intended for a brief national marketing campaign, it has now been followed up by this complete Glass CD for international distribution. Lavinia Meijer is recognized worldwide as one of the most successful rising stars. Besides performing the standard harp repertoire Lavinia Meijer is very keen on playing modern music. She is also interested in experiments with electronic music, theatrical performances and jazz. Her cd’s got raving reviews and awards.

Composer: Philip Glass
Performer: Lavinia Meijer

Reviews: If you’ve got insomnia, then this disc is for you. Philip Glass’ piano music is, how shall we say, placid at best. Arrange it for harp and it becomes positively tranquilizing. Not that this is a bad thing. Lavinia Meijer is a fabulous harpist, with a silky touch and a voluptuous timbre, and she’s stunningly well recorded in SACD surround sound (if that’s your pleasure). Besides, insomnia is serious, and it’s no insult to Meijer or Glass to suggest that this music might be put to good use, whether for relaxation or as a warm and comforting background to some other activity (a romantic dinner?).

Musically speaking all three works here sound pretty much the same: attractive sequences of chords endlessly repeated; brief melodic fragments backed by simple ostinatos; never anything disturbing. The Hours has movement titles that promise a certain level of excitement—The Poet Acts, I’m Going to Make a Cake, An Unwelcome Friend—but very little of note breaks Glass’ generally unruffled surfaces. Know what you’re getting and you’re sure to enjoy this beautifully played and recorded, if somewhat specialized, disc. Put it on and take a bubble bath.

Tracklisting:

1. Glassworks: Opening by Philip Glass
Performer: Lavinia Meijer (Harp)
Period: Modern
Written: 1981; United States of Ame

2. Metamorphoses (5) by Philip Glass
Performer: Lavinia Meijer (Harp)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1988; USA

3. The Hours: Suite by Philip Glass
Performer: Lavinia Meijer (Harp)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 2002; USA

EAC

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 31. July 2013, 17:28

Lavinia Meijer / Glass - Metamorphosis; The Hours

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Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
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Additional command line options : -V -8 %source%

TOC of the extracted CD

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Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename D:\temp\Music\Glass - Metamorphosis; The Hours\Glass - Metamorphosis; The Hours.wav

Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 2.2 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 6B39D467
Copy CRC 6B39D467
Copy OK

No errors occurred

AccurateRip summary

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All tracks accurately ripped

End of status report

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Thanks to the original releaser

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