Philip Glass: American Four Seasons with violinist Robert McDuffie

American Youth Symphony
Robert McDuffie, conductor and soloist
Glass: The American Four Seasons
February 20, 2016 | UCLA's Royce Hall

[@MinimalSymphony]

Everything about this concert, this interpretation, everything about this is perfect

[@phixi0n]

It should be, it was written for McDuffie .

[@Mabusesato]

i prefer Kremer version

[@michaelscribe4827]

@@Mabusesato Because Europe is older, wiser, and they've killed even more people than us in the US?

[@Mabusesato]

@@michaelscribe4827 what!?

[@user-ib5fi4rr4p]

@@michaelscribe4827 😃👍

[@aneveningofoldtimeradio]

And he’s playing every note from memory. Incredible

[@giancitton2604]

00:00 - Prologue 01:53 - Movement I 07:56 - Song No. 1 10:55- Movement 2 21:40 - Song No. 2 23:09 - Movement 3 29:09 - Song No. 3 31:56 - Movement 4

[@markstephenson5118]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a soloist put so much physical and emotional energy into a performance! Why aren’t his violin strings smoking?

[@josephalmond3759]

The strings he uses are Mormon strings.

[@jamesarmstrong8729]

A wizard of a performance of a magician composer. The orchestra are something special. Thanks for posting this masterpiece. James.

[@Sniper.925]

I used to listen to him practicing all the time

[@pianoplayer2692]

I saw this live... Duffie played this at the Charleston Symphony some years back... it was incredible... one of my most favorite concerts ever and I have been to countless concerts. The energy was off the charts! A Great Talent! A Great Piece of Music!

[@crayonofdarkness215]

Saw this live also. In Connecticut. In 2010 I think ? It was so amazing live. This is the first recording of it I have found since...

[@stevefreier2156]

This is so powerful and overwhelmingly beautiful. It cuts right through every time I hear it! And I just realized that McDuffie is also conducting! What a well-synchronized performance! Absolutely perfect!

[@psijicassassin7166]

As as robot, I find this music obsolete and irrelevant, shamelessly full of sentiment and crowd-pleasing. Why can't modern music be like Boulez's?

[@carloshelmuth]

... my God... What a gift you leave for us... ... ... .. (no words)

[@machabouton7654]

I can't stop listening ...

[@ethanhill9460]

This is vigorous music performed vigorously. Kudos to composer and players alike.

[@joebushong-taylor7932]

I close my eyes and am transported. A wonderful piece and an exquisite interpretation. Am I the only one incredulous at the youth of the performers? McDuffie pulls so much out of his instrument and these students! Thank you for posting this!

[@umbertocapasso67]

extraordinary ..absolutely perfect with dissonance ..I love this and i love the dissonance

[@jeffwatkins352]

What an astonishingly accomplished group of young performers! And McDuffie tears into the work without seeming to even raise a sweat while raising the hairs on the back of my neck repeatedly. Glass seems an inexhaustible fountain of masterworks. Gives a whole new meaning to the string orchestra. A million thanks to all concerned.

[@philhood501]

Stunningly beautiful !

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

Yes. A great talent! A great piece of music.

[@OrKestrAlan]

Awesome interpretation the best I saw in this last years wooow and performance

[@rarefied6820]

31:04 onwards is just...wow...

[@SatoruGojo0001]

Me encanta la sensación que escuchar esto deja en mi alma y corazón. Es algo que no se cómo explicar, pero solo puedo dar gracias por esta obra maestra.

[@fugueholic]

When I was an exchanged student in 2011, MN US, I listened to this music a lot and really wanted to watch the live performance. 7 years later, I accomplish it finally.

[@stevefreier2156]

Love this!! Very different and enjoyable! - Update: Upon a second listening, INCREDIBLE! Update: I can't get enough of this incredible performance!

[@dickpet]

ISN'T IT 'AWESOME', PARTICULARLY THE LAST 10 MINUTES...WOW!!

[@rafaelatugores4821]

i love it

[@gemes64]

I thought I had checked out Philip Glass. I feel such a dickhead. He's off the scale brilliant - interpretations like this help! The only good news is that I seem to discover yet another monumental work of art by the man every day. I find his music sublime and challenging, with the challenging slowly revealing as brilliant also. You never stop learning as I always say to the children I teach.

[@namename4012]

If you have not already experienced the music from the film Powwaqqatsi, I encourage you to do so. Deeply powerful, and personally very moving. Has been for decades.

[@psijicassassin7166]

As as robot, I find this music obsolete and irrelevant, shamelessly full of sentiment and crowd-pleasing. Why can't modern music be like Boulez's?

[@marcpeycker]

@@namename4012 I prefer the music he wrote for the third Qatsi movie, Naqoyqatsi. 🙂

[@brianmcnab8880]

actually you may be irrelevant @@psijicassassin7166

[@crapbag247]

Someone: What season is it? Philip: Yes.

[@NameRequiredSoHere]

It's nutmeg. 3 planned additional seasons are cinnamon, mace, and ginger.

[@user-vo6oq1bv8x]

Robert is one of the Greatest Musician. Philip Glass - Unbelievable, Classical Composer.

[@robertmcduffie2768]

I have come a long way to this point and right from the very beginning you my fans have been solidly behind me It’s been a landslide but we always pull through together,your love and support are amazing. Believe in your self you can always achieve your dreams Kindly tell me where you are from and also drop your email so you can be selected to lend your voice on my upcoming projects I love you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@user-vo6oq1bv8x]

@@robertmcduffie2768 Dear Robert, it is a great honor to hear from you. Your performance of Philip Glass ' Second Violin Concerto (original recording with Marin Alsop) I consider it a REFERENCE. I dream of a THIRD VIOLIN CONCERTO that Glass would write for you! I, Dymchenko Igor Alexandrovich, live in Russia, in the city of Togliatti, in our country, almost no one has heard of Philip Glass. I've been listening to Glass ' music since I was 14 (I'm 33 now). For about TEN YEARS, I thought about His music and came to the conclusion that He, Glass, is not just a Good, but A GREAT COMPOSER. One of the very first pieces of Glass that I heard : Koyaniskatsi. Then the second symphony, which I immediately understood. The third one, too. The fifth symphony-from the beginning was incomprehensible to me. Next, the first violin concerto, with your performance - very much remembered. The pinnacle of Glass ' music is THE NINTH SYMPHONY, PARTITA FOR VIOLIN. I single out THREE LIVING COMPOSERS: Philip Glass, Arvo Part, S. A. Gubaidulina. These are great Composers. I know of no other living man equal to These. My email: [e-mail]

[@stevefreier2156]

@@robertmcduffie2768 I have listened to this piece numerous times over the past couple of years and it knocks me out every time! I have also tried listening to other versions, but none can compare withe the artistry and energy of this performance! (And this from a former rock n roll listener!) I love Glass and you bring his works into an entirely higher dimension! Bravo! BTW, I live in Sturgeon Bay, WI - North of Green Bay.

[@claudiomontini6410]

Sublime, una hermosa expresión del sentimiento y sensibilidad que transmiten las cuerdas ....

[@gaussagain]

Beautiful, dazzling, and moving.

[@TheKakadue]

Aż ciary przechodzą po plecach... Zajebisty utwór!!!

[@albertoprivitera5443]

A masterful interpretation !

[@sumiashleykubota2810]

Thank you!!!!!! thank you!

[@donrayjay]

Beautiful music

[@loesschuurs6296]

Absolutely amazing performance,

[@andrewpfeiffer6218]

First time hearing this. Sounds to me like autumn, winter, spring, summer

[@user-go4uu4ig7e]

Perfect. A pleasure to listen. A wonderful.

[@KnoxBronson]

A great composition and performance! Thank you.

[@w.k.9224]

What an incredible performance ! 'Blown' away !

[@vincenzonaso5341]

This is absolutely amazing.

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

Yes , amazing . A great talent! A great piece of music.

[@angela5094]

Ieri l'ho ascoltato dal vivo a Milano. Grande successo! Esecuzione di Robert McDuffie con l'Ensemble della Verdi Barocca davvero emozionante.

[@alessandrocolombo4185]

È stato davvero bello e anche un po’ inquietante allo stesso tempo!

[@angela5094]

Hai ragione, anche un po' inquietante ma anche questa è un'emozione!

[@koos8034]

Perfect!!!

[@mrnumbskull1]

Absolutely amazing--!

[@jclare2107]

Yes, yes, beautiful and fantastic.

[@KW-vm5ul]

That's wonderful!

[@alessandrofagiuoli]

Great Robert! and great orchestra! It's a pleasure to listen and to watch your performance!!!!

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

Yes, amazing. A great talent! A great piece of music.

[@sherlockholmeslives.1605]

Philip Glass = GENIUS!

[@Chrissy1975100]

J'ADORE!!!! Merci!

[@nadastojanovic9585]

Glass at his best!!! A wonderful rendition of Robert McDuffie!!

[@parislovesrachmaninoff]

The ending was so cool!!

[@paulburman4419]

Amazing. I cannot get this out of my head. Sheer perfection, so beautiful,

[@shin-i-chikozima]

This is a gift to violin lovers I don't think this work has been pulled out from under the spell of Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons

[@Adam-ui3ot]

Feeling.

[@jordan98127]

Fantastic

[@user-zs3mw7og2q]

Великолепные структуры!

[@rodrigotamayo1469]

Beautiful composition. Great performance by McDuffie and the young talented musicians.

[@michaelscribe4827]

Truth. Beauty. Forget all the rest. -- Bill Evans

[@tombenson5957]

Bravo! What a work of brilliance!

[@IvanGreindl]

Outstanding performance from M. McDuffie, who perfectly captured the composer's sensitivity and spirit... Congrats!

[@gaussagain]

Bravo!

[@apocalipsereich6997]

Amazing 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯.

[@MrForestExplorer]

I really enjoy this interpretation and performance.

[@DerekCully]

Bravo¡!

[@birgitkleinfeld5466]

He performed ist with Hamburg Ballet about three year ago. the Ballett was Renku and it was beyond wonderful and perfect!!Hope to see it again!

[@robertmcduffie2768]

I have come a long way to this point and right from the very beginning you my fans have been solidly behind me It’s been a landslide but we always pull through together,your love and support are amazing. Believe in your self you can always achieve your dreams Kindly tell me where you are from and also drop your email so you can be selected to lend your voice on my upcoming projects I love you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@ticthak]

I first heard Glass in the mid-70s as a college student. That was him and others on a bunch of Farfisas. I found it interesting in an annoying sort of way, but not attractive. I heard an interview with him many years later that he was never happy with that situation due to the limits of the gear mostly, but he must have been satisfied enough with results to continue, thank God. Then, 10 years later, I heard Koyaanisqatsi and liked it, but not wildly (my tastes hadn't changed that much, his orchestration had, letting his music start to really shine through). From then on, every successive piece of his I heard I found more and more compelling. To me, he is one of the giants of the past century, refusing to let the beauty with be overwhelmed by virtuosity for its own sake.

[@mike8015]

I know it's been said, but this performance is exquisite!

[@darrenlyle8518]

Kudos to American Youth Symphony, Robert McDuffie, and Philip Glass. A moving and enjoyable performance.

[@fabriziohermann4407]

Fabuleux!!!

[@beatrixvantil8623]

WOW!!!

[@robertmcduffie2768]

I have come a long way to this point and right from the very beginning you my fans have been solidly behind me It’s been a landslide but we always pull through together,your love and support are amazing. Believe in your self you can always achieve your dreams Kindly tell me where you are from and also drop your email so you can be selected to lend your voice on my upcoming projects I love you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@beatrixvantil8623]

@@robertmcduffie2768 very well , I live in Amsterdam , mijn email: [e-mail] . thank you for your attention , succes with your projects . thank you for your great performance ,

[@gaussagain]

@@robertmcduffie2768 I am blessed to have stumbled upon this magnificent performance. I have never heard a performer and composer in a tighter union! Alas, I live in Toronto and doubt you'll ever be able to visit us. In the meanwhile ❤❤❤❤❤ from Canada!

[@HEADSUPBERKELEY]

So great and the pace and repeated themes Bravo

[@tomweast844]

the violin soloist is the teacher?! brilliant interpretation!

[@hualiansdaughter3936]

anybody here in 2021?

[@DonCarlosCSM]

23:11 Autumn

[@NameRequiredSoHere]

I thought I had the video on increased speed. I couldn't believe the way his fingers were flying.

[@stephrufus8275]

A few months ago, I would never have noticed the cough at 17:53

[@dimitrisroidis2498]

there are many coughs allong the concert, every time there is one i turn it off to find out if someone in my house coughs

[@lourdesdewick3733]

Beautiful to the N power 🌴🐸

[@haniabe-be]

Amazing ❤

[@robertmcduffie2768]

I have come a long way to this point and right from the very beginning you my fans have been solidly behind me It’s been a landslide but we always pull through together,your love and support are amazing. Believe in your self you can always achieve your dreams Kindly tell me where you are from and also drop your email so you can be selected to lend your voice on my upcoming projects I love you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

@@robertmcduffie2768 A great talent! A great piece of music. Incredibly beautiful. CONGRATULATIONS. Thanks. ❤👍🙏

[@michaelkirwan2892]

Love the music but was the whole year spent in New Hampshire?

[@smkh2890]

Amazing performance! The lead violin part is so demanding. How did glass write this if he is a pianist? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Concerto_No._2_(Glass)

[@smkh2890]

It needs an electric violin treatment.

[@ericbergman9701]

I just read a section of Glass's autobiography where he talks about this. While at Julliard he realized he needed to learn a bit of violin in order to write for the instrument. One of his friends there was a violinist and taught him for a while. He said he never became even a "decent" violinist but he learned enough to write good music for it.

[@raamella]

He is a genius

[@smkh2890]

@@raamella It's not a useful word in music crit. eg. saying Einstein is a 'genius' stops us from questioning his model, which is incompatible with sub-atomic physics. Similarly, saying Glass is a 'genius' doesn't add anything to our discourse about Minimalism, or film music, or orchestration. It's just a fan-word.

[@jean-francoisbrunet2031]

Is it what is called Musak?

[@suz5191]

hold up? the soloist is also the conductor??

[@jeanlagace8572]

Magnifique musique composée en 2010. Il faut avoir beaucoup d'ambition pour emprunter à Vivaldi le titre d'une de ses œuvres maîtresse. Philippe Glass l'a fait et franchement, il n'a pas à rougir de l'inévitable comparaison qu'on fera entre les deux. J'écoute cette pièce deux ou trois fois par semaine depuis que je l'ai découverte. Et encore au moment où j'écris ces lignes. Je n'en reviens pas comme c'est beau. Et de penser que le compositeur est vivant et qu'on pourrait le croiser dans les rues de New York, ça me fait tout drôle.

[@1967born]

Why all those sounds in the background? (slam, bam, doors closing, coughing, baby screamings, etc.?).

[@andrewbenner6349]

If you have the time and money to be at one of these and you sneeze or cough this loud, do consider sticking your tongue out and then biting down as hard as you possibly can.

[@garyjcampbell2058]

Its a pity that at the three quietest bits we hear, first a falsetto baby crying, then a nice forte cough, then a staccato door slamming. Who takes a baby to a classical concert? Please comment if you didn't hear this, its so unbelievable I'm worried about my own hearing.

[@paulbink452]

It's not soft as Vivaldi, it's not weird as Penderecki, it's not heavy as Rachmaninov, it's not bombastic as Orf. It's the perfect soup, with the right measurements of all the ingredients. We as audience are the grain of salt for the finishing touch.

[@MrTobi4]

28:16 : I find the background noise (electronic tic-tac) that's been going on for a while really annoying. Especially when there is no instrument playing to "cover" its noise.

[@zogzog1063]

It spoils the whole effort. This concert is dreadful compared with either Robert McDuffie's version conducted by Marin Allsop, or the interpretation by Gidon Kremer - both of which are excellent.

[@timforbes4967]

Perhaps the synthesiser player/performer centre back of the stage, behind the soloist might provide a slight clue as to from whence and where the electronic music emanates; Duh.

[@jesperburns]

@@timforbes4967 Perhaps some reading comprehension might be required to understand that nobody was wondering where the sound came from.

[@miceforlent]

Chloe Hanslip was playing the first violin concerto in Edinburgh earlier this year, and I though, "Yeah Chloe Hanslip, but Glass??" so I gave it a listen and a bit to my surprise I thought it was magnificent. Otherwise I would never have found my way here. This is superb too, maybe more so, we'll see how it beds down - so much reflection of the first concerto in it. Sorry Philip Glass fans. I've been labouring under a bit of a misconception about your man for a while - sorted now.

[@ComtedeMonteC]

In 100 years time Beethoven will still be performed throughout the world. But nobody will have heard of Philip Glass his music having been totally forgotten. Anton Rubinstein is the 19th century equivalent of Philip Glass: world famous and very popular in his day but now nobody plays Anton Rubinstein's music.

[@username7777771]

I hate this snobby argument. As if the pinnacle of music was reaches 300 years ago and all we can do now is archive and keep it propped up on dwindling audiences and diminishing public interest. Keep your Beethoven.

[@ComtedeMonteC]

@@username7777771 This shows how little you know about music. Beethoven lived around 200 years ago not 300. Hate as much you want because Glass's music will totally forgotten before long.

[@ComtedeMonteC]

@@username7777771 This shows how little you know about music. Beethoven lived around 200 years ago not 300. Maybe I have something to be snobbish about in that I know more about music than you seem to do.

[@OOiO.m]

@@ComtedeMonteC consider changing your pills

[@muslit]

....if you like arpeggios.

[@ganesaponraja7963]

I just came to listen to the coughing

[@whsonic]

I hope you're not disappointed. You can even hear a baby (around 21:00).

[@renzo6490]

@@whsonic _Who would be so disrespectful as to being an infant into a concert hall? Might just as well bring in a pack of puppies !!

[@pedesromanus657]

21:00 was that a baby? wtf

[@flamingxombie]

Bach like. What's the harpsichordish heart beat there?

[@flamingxombie]

Oh its the pizzicato I think from the cellos

[@udonloews1301]

“ Infinite serenity in space “is what attracts a free spirit. Unlimited mileage through T I M E ----

[@darrenlyle8518]

If nothing else, you tube is the place not where one comes to enjoy music and if not just move on to another composition; it is a perch for whining harpies to register their discontent and odious contempt for the piece or the composer.

[@1987ulise]

AMAIZING!. The orchestra plays with no conductor!.

[@matthewszymanski7037]

The soloist is the conductor. You can see him make cues while he's playing.

[@leebennett1821]

Prefer how Richter reimagined it

[@J1ss3ncy]

The electronic keyboard ruined the performance for me. I gave up after a few minutes. Luckily I'll keep enjoying Giddon Kremer's CD for the rest of my life.❤

[@muslit]

gesture alone is not enough to express emotion . a limited harmonic plane doesn't help, either.

[@phillipweissburg1882]

Unlike Rap musical artists....I never hear of a Classical musician being shot by an audience member...why is that>????

[@WIPACT]

lul

[@ComtedeMonteC]

The intonation of the violin soloist is often faulty.

[@lodovicosforza]

Nonsense!

[@edwardgonzales6937]

I have to agree. He gets a little sloppy at times, arguably a trade-off for this fiery and poetic interpretation. At times gets distracting, especially towards the end, but I still enjoy it.

[@Adam-ui3ot]

Passion

[@Adam-ui3ot]

Feeling.

[@jesperburns]

Right? I thought I was the only one.

[@SantiagoQuinto]

Que malo es esto. Glass se repite :)

[@namename4012]

Que ridiculo. Es muy hermosa.

[@aguador67]

@@namename4012 Por lo menos es música "tonal", en vez de las habituales ventosidades dodecafónicas (cacofónicas) de algunos que se pretenden "genios" musicales. Eso, al menos, hay que concedérselo. Dentro de eso, si Glass ha escrito música buena, mala, regular o mediopensionista... dependerá del gusto de cada cual.