Not sure what's gotten into those crazy music purveyors at amazon.com, but earlier today (October 27), the site began offering a 21-track sampler of music by pre-eminent contemporary classical composer Philip Glass - totally free. Whatever they're dreaming, let's hope they don't wake up.

"The Orange Mountain Music Philip Glass Sampler, Vol. 1" includes material from a broad swath of Glass' illustrious career, including solo piano pieces, concerto projects, soundtrack edits from "Thin Blue Line," "The Hours" and "The Fog of War," and even a remix of one etude. (Nothing, alas, from his groundbreaking opera, "Einstein on the Beach.")

This DAME will be the first to admit that, despite his being one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century, Glass’ music is an acquired taste. Though his earlier works were often lumped in with the so-called “minimalist” movement, his often sparse compositions relied heavily on repetition, to the point that yours truly once had to leave a screening of “Koyaanisqatsi” (an edit from that soundtrack is included here) because the repeated, escalating rhythms were threatening to make my head explode.

But when a composer is this prolific, there are bound to be a few pieces that get under even a devoted listener’s skin. In subsequent years, his music has embraced more traditional classical forms, and he himself describes his work as "classicist," guided by studies of harmony and counterpoint and including Schubert, Bach and Mozart among its influences.

Glass has never sequestered himself in some ivory tower of high art, either. Aside from his fame as a master of the Western orchestral tradition, his compositions have embraced the worlds of rock, ambient, electronic and world music, with Brian Eno and David Bowie among his congratulatory peers. In the 1990s, Glass composed two symphonies – “Low” and “Heroes”- that were derived from the Bowie-Eno collaboration albums of the same names. More recently, a handful of his pieces appeared in the trailer and the finished score for the “Watchmen” film.

Even at 21 tracks, this compilation barely puts a dent in Glass’ encyclopedic range, but there’s enough here to delight connoisseurs and intrigue the casual, or merely curious, listener.

At this price, you can’t afford not to find out what Philip Glass is all about. And since, amazon.com’s free offers are subject to disappear without further notice, the time to grab this sampler is now.

for more info: wikipedia on Philip Glass
Philip Glass web site

More free music from Amazon.com

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