Symphony no. 5

"There can hardly be many modern symphonies that quite match Philip Glass's Fifth in terms of ambition, scale, depth and scope ... This is a definitely a symphony with brass knobs on. Comprising choir, children's voices, five soloists ... [Heather] Buck is brilliant throughout, but all five soloists give a very good account of themselves ... Julian Wachner's no-frills direction with Trinity Wall Street's new-music orchestra, Novus NY, allows the texts to retain their presence and immediacy ... The jury may still be out on Phillip Glass's achievements in this most revered of classical forms, yet there can be little doubt that his music imbues the tonality of our time with strikingly powerful elemental quality".