Tom Huizenga | February 7, 2024
It's a longstanding tradition for musicians to leave a small something-or-other on the thoroughly disorganized wall of "stuff" that backdrops our Tiny Desk. My favorite is the Johann Sebastian Bach bobblehead.
But now, move over Bach. Here comes Philip Glass.
When Timo Andres arrived at our office to play a pair of etudes by Philip Glass, the director of Glass' publishing house, Adrienne White, tagged along and generously donated the only remaining Philip Glass bobblehead to NPR - an appropriate gesture to mark the composer's 87th birthday on Jan. 31.
The wiggly statue depicts Glass standing at one of his trusty Farfisa organs, an instrument associated with the early days of his career when he played intricate patterns over and over in his SoHo loft, as fans and fellow musicians, like Laurie Anderson, laid on the floor and let the music wash over them.
Much of Glass' music can have that transforming, mesmerizing effect, including these two etudes. They are opposite twins from a set of 20, pieces Glass wrote over a two-decade span, beginning in the early 1990s. Andres knows the music intimately - he helped edit and design a gorgeous new folio facsimile of the sheet music.
With Etude No. 6, Andres combines sewing machine precision with a deep feeling for Glass' melodies, stitching together delicate arpeggios and thundering chords. Etude No. 5 is, by contrast, a meditation in slow motion. A see-sawing rhythmic idea sets the foundation for a journey wherein time seems to stand almost still while the spaces between the notes speak volumes.
SET LIST
Philip Glass: Etude No. 6
Philip Glass: Etude No. 5
MUSICIANS
Timo Andres: piano
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Tom Huizenga
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Phil Edfors
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Elizabeth Gillis
Tiny Desk Team: Joshua Bryant, Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
#nprmusic #tinydesk #timoandres #philipglass
you know a tiny desk is going to be good when the thumbnail is just one person and a piano what a stellar recording of these etudes, every time i hear a Glass piece i fall a bit more in love with his composing style.
Amen
The memory required to do this! 😶🌫 No sheet music in sight 😵💫
especially if the piano player is sporting acetate moscot lemtosh glasses
My favorite tiny desk concert...
Superb, once again Tiny Desk gives the fantastic opportunity to hear great music of every genre.
Just found out Timo and Philip today, and it's a good good day.
Incredible,, his sustain at the end said everything about the negative spaces in Philip glasses music.
That sequence at 4:00 holy cow.
Masterful interpretation of Glass' evocative compositions. 👏 👏
i have no words.... amazing work.. thank ya
Thank you Timo! And thank you NPR for the scope and depth you continue to bring with Tiny Desk! Truly thankful for you all. Opens me up and makes me better.
Tiny Desk concerts never ceases to astound. Thank you!
That no 6 is just stunning, looks well rehearsed both in the mechanistic like accuracy of his technique and overall deft fluidity with which he varies dynamics. An inspiring and well considered performance.
Etude No.5 is sublime, Etude No. 6 the preparation. Goodness! 🙌🏾❤
What an amazing pianist, musician. Bravo Timo. I just got back from a Carnegie Hall concert of his - breathtaking technique and sense of music ❤️🙌
Philip Glass writes music that sounds like breathing feels.
holy! i wasnt expecting this AT ALL. Pretty amazing to see someone so talented playing the piano, it warms up our souls
Amazing
oh thank you! Philip Glass is a living legend and one of my all time favorite composers!
Sometimes less is more this is one of those occasions. Masterful ❤👌
Mindblowing!! 🤯💖
Phillip Glass has a very recognisable compositional style. Very pretty and very well played!
This makes me SO happy!!! A phenomenal performance of some truly stunning music.
This is a very captivating and enjoyable experience of Philip Glass’s music - I really appreciate Tiny Desk bringing it to me today!
Love seeing the bobble head wobble as Timo plays, it's like it's playing along!
Woow this is amazing to hear
Incredible
Very impressive performance, I like the timbre of this piano. I wish I could listen to more concerts of this kind👍
I have no idea who this guy is but when I saw the video’s thumbnail I could tell that I was about to witness something amazing. And I was wrong. “Amazing” is an understatement.
Amazing skill really interesting peices
Beautiful. Thank you Timo. Thank you Tiny Desk. 🌞🫶🏼🖖🏼
Congrats to Timo Andres. The selected music by him is wonderful and he plays beautifully. Get him a tuned piano, please. Thanks for bringing him, Tiny Desk producers. 🎶🎊🎵👏
I first saw his performance of Etude 6 on his channel two years ago, when I was extremely obsessed with Philip Glass’s music. I still remember the video but I didn’t remember his name. It is good to see him here!!
It sounds very calm. I like it very much
Really should listen to more Glass, I always love it when I hear it.
Saw him at Carnegie Hall so emotive people crying others chills with goosebumps. He has his own gorgeous style. Mishima closing, Truman sleeping, baraka and hoyannaqastatsi soundtracks so much more. He's just as amazing as person
Amazing performance, thank you!!
That was intense!
Fantastic. The newly released Glass “Solo” is amazing too.
stunning...
The first intense ascension at 4:23 seems to have too much emotional baggage, yet it makes Philips work closer to human. Timo’s choice to reverse the etudes 6 to 5 was a Brilliant interpretation choice as well.
Beatiful
That was incredibly beautiful❤❤❤ ty
Superb!
A GREAT pianist. He should be at Carnegie. Marvelous pieces that he chose. Playing then flawlessly. My fingers would be sore after that Etude 6.
Well choosen examples of Glass´ Etudes. I specially like the second, no 5.
Its hard to describe how much I want to be in the room when no 6 swells...
Amaizing
Wow 'Clark Kent' hid his cape for this high-flying super performance. ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙
Loved the transition between the two etudes
Beautiful
Timestamps: 0:00-Introduction 0:55- Etude No. 6 5:21-Etude No.5
oh this is going to be a fun rabbit hole to explore. thanks tiny desk
Absolutely Stunning To Watch!
I’m right here!!!
Bravo
Inacreditavelmente espetacular 🇧🇷♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
that was pretty incredible!!!
Yeah! Timo!
At first I was wondering why he was by himself, then once he started playing… ohhh!!! Impressive!!!
So good!
Absolutely fabulous
Timo you have a new fan! Thx from the Netherlands
Wow 🙌
So much fun!
He got higher playspeed range than the yt itself..❤❤❤ So 👍 👍😊
0:59 Philip Glass: Etude No. 6 5:22 Philip Glass: Etude No. 5
Truly grand! The early bird catches the worm. Masterfully magnificent!
Fantastic ❤
Loved it! Thank you.
Beautiful ❤
Hermoso!!!
Wow... Amazing!!! Thank you
Fantastic m❤❤❤
4:22 That breath and release is ooooooof.
nice!!!!!!!!!!
Maravilloso!!
Mamna mia, this guy really can play piano
Mesmerizing..
Yes.
NPR: please get a tuned baby grand.
Absolutely EPIC
💎🎶🎹❤🔥
Que bom ver alguém que não precise se vestir, nem se comportar como um personagem da "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" pra mostrar o inesperado e o esplêndido! A arte dele fala por si só! Magestoso.
0:58 - Playing starts
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Before I read the description I thought, “wow this first piece sounds a bit like Glass… clearly an influence” ha
Maybe my mom was right. Maybe I really *should* have practiced the piano more 😅
👏👏👏
This is insane
♥️♥️♥️♥️
Nice
It's giving Westworld
Etudes 6 > straight to goosebumps. A bit faster and more intense than the original, even better.
Very rude to put an ad in the middle
This is how you play piano!
Human Arpeggio
Feels like Frank Zappa and Philip Glass could be friends!
👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I'll just say ... I wonder what Timo thought of this piano.
how can he play through the section with the octave jumps without slowing down at all?!
A lot of notes to memorise too.
@@GIZMOCHEYENNEa lot of repetition! that’s pretty easy to memorize. compared to bach for example.
Yes, Bach was always a challenge for me in my piano-playing days. I could sight-read almost anything but memorise? That was hard.
I can't wait to play those etudes on the radio. /s
Bill Evans is alive
NOSPR Katowice 😊