Philip Glass has a musical language that is instantly palatable, with its flowing arpeggios and lush instrumentation. It’s also confined to a very narrow strip in the spectrum of musical expression, yet the potential for infinite subtlety reveals itself quickly. The idea is reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s blue period, during which he only uses shades of blue and green to convey incredibly nuanced ideas and emotions. In Glass’ third string quartet, the harmony revolves closely around D minor in the first four movements, and E flat major in the last two. The development of the piece is constructed through subtle changes in the layering of material, rather than through traditional thematic development. Originally, these six movements were written as a soundtrack to the film “Mishima”, directed by Paul Schrader. It tells the story of the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, who was an active nationalist who ended up taking his own life through the act of Seppuku, a ritual suicide, after having led a failed coup d’état.

Johannes Marmen 2016