Glass: String Quartet No. 5, Suite from Dracula & String Sex

Philip Glass Fifth String Quartet is the most substantial of his five quartets and the most traditional, using formal structures and expressive contrasts which go far beyond minimalism. While maintaining Glass unmistakeable personal style, this is a quartet which delivers both driving energy and an unforgettable, threnody-like tenderness. Glass chose a string quartet for his score to the film Dracula to evoke the feeling of the world of the 19th century, the music underpinning the films visual drama while avoiding obvious horror effects. The String Sextet is an arrangement of Glasss Third Symphony (Naxos 8.559202), combining symphonic scale with the intimacy synonymous with the chamber music genre. The Carducci Quartets critically acclaimed recording of Philip Glasss String Quartets Nos. 1-4 can be heard on Naxos 8.559636.