Symphony No. 6: Plutonian Ode
Label: Orange Mountain Music
Rated: NONE
WorkNameSort: Symphony No. 6: Plutonian Ode
Ten years ago, the world from American eyes seemed prosperous and peaceful and just a teensy bit progressive; to revisit the potential of nuclear horror via an Allen Ginsberg poem would have been nothing more than a reminder of how scary things had been. Now, however, things are even scarier, and that poem “Plutonian Ode” is as portentous as it is prescient. Glass was wise to choose it as source material for this symphony (which was commissioned in honor of his 65th birthday: “Happy birthday, now get to work!”). Interestingly, the intense nature of the poem rattled Glass out of his minimalist rut, and the result is a work that’s richly textured and darkly emotional. The martial performance by the Bruckner Orchester Linz pushes the piece forward at a dynamic pace, while Lauren Flanigan’s soprano does Ginsberg’s poem the dramatic justice it deserves.
This article appears in Nov 16-22, 2005.