The Amstel Quartet

I have been a bit slack on the old Hugh Lane Gallery Sunday at noon gigs lately, but I did make one a while back that featured some Dutch saxophonists called The Amstel Quartet. This concert featured some annoying children whose parents had not taught them to shut the fuck up when going to classical music events, but it was nevertheless possible to enjoy the music. I can't really say too much about what they played, but I was amused by the reaction when they announced that they were going to play a Phillip Glass piece as a surprise encore. Basically you could hear this ripple of extreme approval going through the audience, bringing home the extent to which he has become a centrepiece figure of mainstream alternative music. I would love to know how this happened. I know Glass through his soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi, with that film being essentially an extended promo for his crazy sounds, but it is hardly the kind of thing that Self-Satisfied Of Dublin 4 is going to watch on a regular basis. Or is it?

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