Philip Glass: Symphony No. 14

Orange Mountain Music is proud to present the world premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Symphony No.14 commissioned and performed by the esteemed LGT Young Soloists. The latest in Glass’s creative output as a symphonist, Symphony No.14 'The Liechtenstein Suite,' is Glass’s second string symphony and It is conducted here by Mark Messenger. The work was premiered in September 2021 at the Royal Academy of Music in London and recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios. The scale of the work stands in dramatic contrast to all of Glass’s other symphonies. The piece was written for the fourteen strings of the LGT Young Soloists. A largely calm and meditative work, what is already intimate bcomes moreso when the piece is further reduced to a string quintet for a substantial part of the slow second movement. One of the more compelling and curious creations in Glass’s catalogue of symphonies, Glass renders the 19-minute symphony even more intimate stating, 'At this point in my life, I’m looking for smaller audiences.' The result is a precious late document from one of the most public composers of our time. The album begins not with the new symphony but with new recording of Glass’s 'Tirol Concerto' (2000) for piano and string orchestra with the brilliant young pianist Martin James Barlett as soloist. The stunning three-movement concerto is based on a traditional Tyrolean melody and receives a fresh new interpretation by the LGT Young Soloists - a virtuoso group of elite young musicians drawn from all over Europe. The ensemble rounds out the album with a crystalline rendition of Glass’s 'Echorus' for two violins and strings from 1994. The piece is based on Glass’s Etude No.2 and was created for violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Edna Mitchell.