Symphony No. 1 (''Low'') is a
symphony by
Philip Glass based on
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's 1977 album ''
Low''.
In 1996 Glass based
another symphony on David Bowie's following album ''
"Heroes"'', and in 2018 he based his
12th Symphony on Bowie's album ''
Lodger'', completing his trilogy of symphonies based on Bowie's ''
Berlin Triptych''.
The symphony
The symphony was composed in 1992 and scored for full orchestra with 2
flutes,
piccolo, 2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, 2
clarinets,
E clarinet,
bass clarinet, 2
bassoons, 4
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, 3 trumpets, 3
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
s,
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
, percussion,
harp, piano and strings (including 8 first
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
s, 6 second violins, 4
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
s, 4
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
s and 2
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
es).
The symphony has three movements:
"Some Are", the David Bowie song on which the second movement was based, was not included on the original release of ''Low'', but was recorded around the ''Low'' recording sessions. The song would later be released on the
Rykodisc
Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.
History
Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...
reissue of the album in 1991, as well as the 2008 David Bowie compilation "iSelect".
Recordings
The first recording of this work was released in 1993 under the title ''Low Symphony''. It was performed by the
Brooklyn Philharmonic
There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence fr ...
orchestra under the batons of
Dennis Russell Davies
Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic.
Biography
Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...
, principal conductor, and Karen Kamensek, assistant conductor.
Philip Glass allowed ideas of Bowie and
Brian Eno, who worked together on ''
Low'', to influence how he worked on the music.
# "Subterraneans" – 15:07
# "Some Are" – 11:17
# "Warszawa" – 15:57
See also
*
Symphony No. 4 "Heroes"
References
01
Philip Glass albums
Glass 01
1992 compositions
{{classical-album-stub