GLASS For Cello / Camille Thomas | Deutsche Grammophon

On her upcoming album Philip Glass for Cello, Belgian cellist Camille Thomas celebrates the composer’s forthcoming 90th birthday with a deeply personal tribute to his music. The project grew out of a unique artistic exchange: impressed by her recordings, Glass shared the scores of his two cello concertos with the French cellist, sparking the idea for this album. 

At the heart of the project are Glass’s rarely performed First and Second Cello Concertos. Thomas brings fresh perspective to the lyrical intensity and expressive power of the First Concerto, while offering her own reimagining of the Second, based on music from Naqoyqatsi. The programme also includes evocative arrangements from Glass’s celebrated film scores for The Hours and The Truman Show, alongside selected Études newly transcribed for cello ensemble.    

Through the cello’s uniquely voice-like sound, Thomas reveals the emotional depth, hypnotic beauty and constant sense of transformation that define Philip Glass’s musical language. 

Listen to a third pre-release track of Glass’s Etude No. 5. The full album is released digitally, on CD and on vinyl on 18 September and is available for pre-order.