Scenic Route

American composer Philip Glass (1937) has become renowned for his musical style that has widely been dubbed ‘minimalism’. However, Glass himself never appreciated the term and gave preference to speak of himself as a composer of ‘music with repetitive structures’. In the past 25 years alone, Glass has composed more than twenty operas; ten symphonies; two piano concertos and concertos for violin, piano, timpani, and saxophone quartet and orchestra; string quartets; soundtracks to films, including Oscar winning The Hours, and a growing body of work for solo piano and organ. His operas, symphonies, and compositions have been executed with a wide range of collaborators including artists such as chorographer Twyla Tharp, poet Allen Ginsberg, filmmaker Woody Allen, and musician David Bowie. It is safe to say that Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times and has reshaped the definition of modern classical music.

“Composing is a way to talk about the things I care about, so when Sol and Paul asked me to write a new composition for them I immediately began to think about subject matter; what exactly should a new work made in Europe in 2017 talk about?

Reflecting on contemporary society I decided to make a work on the universal subject of journeys: our life is defined by our movement forward through time, and we map our physical world by journeying through it. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to influence where we are going, but for an increasing number of people there are very few choices: the physical journey is a necessity in order for the journey forward through time to continue at all. Exiles takes a simple musical line for a long trip. The piano and mallet instruments playing this material are surrounded by varying landscapes of orchestral string texture. The music is subjected to all sorts of transformative processes along the way: every journey leaves its mark.” – Max Richter

ROGER VAN DER POEL ON SINGULIERE ODYSSEE

“This new piece by Sol and Paul marks our 10th creation together since I landed in NDT. I have had the pleasure to work closely with the two of them for the past eleven years and performed in approximately twenty different pieces of theirs so far!

Naturally, our relationship has developed through the years to a point where we trust each other as artists, professionals, and friends which makes our work process feel like second nature to me. The result of their constant perfectionism and intensity shows in each of their works, and that is something beautiful to be a part of.”

JORGE NOZAL ON SILENT SCREEN

“Silent Screen was the first new creation that I worked on with Sol and Paul during my first season with NDT. It’s an emotionally coded work, with difficult techniques and fast pace movements that require a very demanding stage presence.

During the time of its creation, Silent Screen was like a jump into the wild ocean for me. I still vividly remember how aware I was of the amount of responsibility that I had, and the intense desire to make it happen.”

SARAH REYNOLDS ON SILENT SCREEN

“When I think of Silent Screen I think of storytelling. In all its many shapes and forms, storytelling has always been a means of conveying a message, a moral or magic.

I believe Sol and Paul were very inspired by silent movies for this work in particular; how artists portrayed their role through the eyes, the breath, a physicality. There being no words nor dialogue left space for the body to be the storytelling vessel.”