To mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Philip Glass’s 20 Etudes for piano in November 2024, SOMM Recordings has released a Special Edition of Selected Etudes, performed by Italian pianist and composer, Giusto Di Lallo.

Following in the Etude-writing tradition of Chopin and Liszt – pedagogical tools to help pianists improve their playing – Philip Glass wrote his etudes “to explore a variety of tempi, textures, and piano techniques” but also to improve his own piano playing. They were composed between 1991 and 2012 and present a broad range of music and technical ideas, all carrying the hallmarks of Glass’s distinctive style – repetitions and loops, polyrhythms and unusual harmonic colourings. The complete edition of Books 1 and 2 of Glass’s Etudes was published in 2014, and since then, this music has been enthusiastically taken up by pianists and audiences alike. There have been some notable recordings and performances of these works, by, amongst others, Maki Namekawa, Nicholas Horvath, Maire Carroll, Bruce Levingston, Vikingur Olafsson and Glass himself.

Philip Glass

“Why offer the public another recording of Glass’s Piano Etudes when there are already dozens of them out there?” says Giusto Di Lallo of his new recording for SOMM. The answer is that when he first acquired the sheet music for the Etudes and began to analyse and study them, he was struck by the fact that many pianists had deliberately transformed the sense of some of the Etudes. Di Lallo’s attention was caught primarily by discrepancies in the tempi, although he also realized that pianists had often altered the dynamics and phrasing as well, which he felt altered the sense of some of the Etudes.

For this special edition album, Di Lallo has chosen a selection of Etudes rather than presenting the entire set and has attempted to remain as faithful as possible to the original intentions of the composer as laid out in the score. By adhering strictly to the score to preserve the tempi, dynamics, and phrasing exactly as written, his aim was to restore the music to its original spirit and present the Etudes in their most authentic form, creating a sort of reset point after ten years of several “personal” interpretations.

Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes

It’s true that Glass’s score lacks detail – there are no pedal indications and fairly sparse articulation marks, for example – but this also allows the individual player a degree of personal interpretation? And surely directions such as metronome marks are for guidance rather than to be adhered to slavishly? Even Glass himself admits this.

And yet, listening to other recordings for the purposes of comparison, it does seem that some pianists regard Glass’s music, with its repetitions, loops and hypnotic polyrhythms, as an opportunity for overly fast tempi or a relentlessness that sometimes obscures the original sense of the music. Then the performance becomes an opportunity to show off technical prowess, fleet fingers or individual virtuosity rather than to respect the composer’s original intent.

Philip Glass: Piano Etude No. 9 – Giusto Di Lallo

Certainly, in his performance of Etude No. 1, Di Lallo has opted for a less frenetic tempo, closer to Glass’s own recording, which lends greater shape to the repeating triplet figures and allows the listener to appreciate Glass’s harmonic colourings. It feels fluid rather than hurried, and where the music moves into a new section of quavers with a simple crotchet melody, the simpler arc of the music is brought to the fore. The second Etude is, for me, the most successful of the set: a dreamy and reflective opening section, beautifully paced and elegantly voiced, allows Di Lallo to really capitalise on the climatic episodes of the piece before tranquillity is restored.

Giusto Di Lallo

Other Etudes on this recording were somewhat less convincing for me – and I freely admit that this is entirely down to personal taste. In some instances, the strict adherence to Glass’s articulation markings leads to rather too crisp a sound, in my opinion, and I would have liked to hear a couple of the more romantic Etudes (e.g. No. 20). But this is Di Lallo’s personal selection. And despite what he says about “authenticity”, this is his own interpretation of the music – and that is what makes it interesting.

So perhaps what this album does best is emphasise the reasons why there are multiple recordings of the same music by different musicians: as a listener, we will select those recordings which we find most appealing while also enjoying the different approaches which each individual player brings to the music. And for the player, the challenge is bringing their own interpretation, personality and experience to the music.

This is a welcome and refreshing addition to the recordings of Glass’s Etudes by a pianist who is willing to challenge mainstream notions of authenticity and interpretation.

Giusto Di Lallo’s new album of Philip Glass Selected Piano Etudes – 10th Anniversary Special Edition is out on 7 February on SOMM: https://listn.fm/glassetudes/

For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter