Philip Glass - Music with Changing Parts (Dedalus Ensemble)

Information

Composer: Philip Glass

• Music with Changing Parts

Dedalus Ensemble

Date: 2026

Label: Sub rosa

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Music with Changing Parts (1970) is a seminal work of musical minimalism by Philip Glass, written for free instrumentation and structured around performer choice among eight interchangeable parts. Musicians may change parts at designated cues, creating abrupt shifts in orchestration that refresh a tightly limited melodic material based on repeating, expanding, and contracting patterns. During rehearsals, Glass discovered a psychoacoustic effect in which overlapping eighth notes generated perceived sustained tones, leading him to incorporate optional long notes into the score. These innovations marked a stylistic turning point, paving the way toward Glass’s later, more dramatic works, including Einstein on the Beach.

Founded in 1996 by Didier Aschour, Dedalus Ensemble is a collective specializing in open-instrumentation music and is associated with the GMEA – Centre National de Création Musicale d’Albi-Tarn. The ensemble develops arrangements and interpretations collaboratively and maintains a wide-ranging repertoire that includes minimalist classics, commissioned works, and reinterpretations of unconventional composers. Known for its distinctive artistic identity, Dedalus presents music that is both conceptually rigorous and sensorially engaging. The ensemble performs internationally across Europe and North America and has released around fifteen critically acclaimed recordings on prominent European and American labels.

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