STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ON THE ICE

One of the most interesting features of Philip Glass' birthday party at the Rockefeller Center ice rink was the presence of professional ice dancers. Their jackets said Ice Theatre of New York. The changing lights made for dramatic effects.                 

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THIS IS REALLY LAURIE ANDERSON

Under all this Nanook Of The North clothing and a mask, facing a couple of MacBooks and a mixer board, is one of my cultural idols, Laurie Anderson. For those who don't know her, see https://laurieanderson.com/, but it's hard to understand if you aren't a devotee. I think I've seen her perform in St. Louis twice. She was the host of Philip Glass' birthday party but I think she spent most of her time being cold. As did we.         

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIP GLASS

So here's what was going on: not long ago I saw something on Laurie Anderson's Facebook feed about an 85th birthday party for Philip Glass that she was hosting. I'm a huge fan of both. It was a ticketed event at the ice rink in Rockefeller Center in New York. I looked at Mrs. C and said, "I'd go to that!" So, given the freedom of retirement, off we went (not that I need much of a reason to visit my beloved home town). It was as wacky as I expected.         

Philip Glass

Last night at the American premier of Philip Glass' opera The Trial, based on Franz Kafka's discomfiting novel. At a reception after the performance, the composer was flanked by Opera Theatre of St. Louis' General Director, Timothy O'Leary, and librettist Cristopher Hampton. Not the greatest picture but I was using my little Olympus under a tent with ordinary light bulbs. 

Glass is something of a hero to me. I wrote recently about encountering the early Stravinsky ballets. A few years later, I read about Glass and heard Music In Fifths, Music In Changing Parts, North Star and the Dances. It smashed my concept of what music could be as throughly as did The Rite of Spring. Then Mrs. C and I attended the performances of Einstein On The Beach and The Photographer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. And then the trilogy of movies with Godfrey Reggio, the searing Koyanaasqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi. And others operas, including Akhenaten, about the ancient Egyptian monothesist, and Satyagraha,  set in the time the young Gandhi lived in South Africa. It's a minority opinion, but I think the latter is the greatest opera of the 20th Century.

So it was a pleasure to hear his newer work and to see him again. He recently turned 80 and looked a little frail. I hope he keeps writing and writing.