![]() This is an extraordinary retelling of the classic story "The Beauty and the Beast", this time based on the Jean Cocteau film La Belle et la Bete. Philip Glass, one of our reigning minimalists, studied under Darius Milhaud and Nadia Boulanger in Paris and his music has always had a quiet Debussy-like character to it. What is amazing is that Glass is one of the minimalists who have made a successful transition into opera (John Adams is the other). And catch the scary silent-movie-house organ! This is a superlative recording of a clear masterpiece. Highly recommended. —Paul Cook ![]() No Description Available. ![]() This is one of the major releases of the 1990s. It begins with Glass's Concerto of Violin and Orchestra (1987), one of the best examples of Minimalism around. The genuine surprise here is Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 5 for Violin: An Invisible Piano and Orchestra (1990), which is actually a violin concerto, or a concerto grosso with violin obbligato. What it has in common with Glass's concerto is its overriding sense of play. Schnittke, for all his daring and his mastery of a wide range of writing styles, is one of the few composers with a sense of humor, or delight. —Paul Cook |