Maya Beiser x Philip Glass

With just her cello and an array of looping and layering effects, Maya Beiser harnesses the expressive power of minimalist composer Philip Glass. She begins with works originally scored for piano, and “Etude No. 2” and “Etude No. 5,” with their simple beauty, emerge as haunting sonic sculptures, while the virtuosic, swirling “Mad Rush” is brought to urgent life with coruscating, insistent arpeggio effects. But it’s in the extracts from Glass’ soundtrack to the 2002 film Naqoyqatsi where Beiser uses her digital tools with greatest subtlety, crafting intimate, often eerie soundscapes that sit beneath a soaring, lamenting solo cello. A spellbinding journey that’s full of atmosphere.