Philip Glass: Music: Mishima

Mishima

(1985)

Music by Philip Glass
String quartets performed by The Kronos Quartet
Michael Riesman, Conductor

CATALOG:
Nonesuch 79113-2

TRACKS:

1.	Mishima/Opening	2:46
2.	November 25: morning	4:08
3.	1934: grandmother & Kimitake	3:37
4.	Temple of the golden pavilion ("like some enormous music")	3:06
5.	Osamu's Theme: Kyoko's house	2:58
6.	1937: Saint Sebastian
7.	Kyoko's house ("stage blood is not enough")	5:00
8.	November 25: Ichigaya	2:11
9.	1957: award montage	3:56
10.	Runaway horses ("poetry written with a splash of blood")	9:09
11.	1962: body building	1:29
12.	November 25: the last day	1:30
13.	F-104: epilogue from Sun and Steel	1:59
14.	Mishima/Closing	2:57

NOTES:
Over the last fifteen years, Philip Glass has defined a new form of biographical opera. There was never any doubt that he would be the ideal composer for Mishima, a mosaic film biography. I wanted a score which would unite the film's disparate elements and propel it forward. Such a score, by definition, would be a distinct, cohesive composition.

I only wondered how to induce Glass. Money was out of the question: the film was already an egregiously under-budgeted labor of love production. I opted for a soft sell. (I've subsequently learned how remarkably resistant Philip is to a hard one.) I simply gave him the script and all the materials by and about Mishima at my disposal.

Philip responded enthusiastically and after several pre-production meetings and a trip to the Tokyo locations, wrote a score from the script as he would from a libretto. With Kurt Munkacsi and Michael Riesman he recorded a temp synthesizer version.

I edited the film to this temp score, altering it as necessary: cutting, expanding and repeating cues. I then played the edited film and score for Philip. He rewrote the music to fit the film's now-precise specifications and recorded it with a full orchestra. Later, he supervised last-minute changes during the final mix.

In keeping with the original concept, Glass has re-edited the score as a distinct musical entity. His Mishima equally serves the film and stands alone.

— Paul Schrader

CREDITS:
Original music composed by Philip Glass. Conducted by Michael Riesman. String quartets performed by The Kronos Quartet: David Harrington, violin. John Sherba, violin. Hank Dutt, viola. Joan Jeanrenaud, cello.

Produced by Kurt Munkacsi for Euphorbia Productions, Ltd. NY, NY. Recording engineer: Dan Dryden, Assistant: Don Christensen. Recorded at: Greene St. Studios NY, NY and The Living Room Inc. NY, NY. Remixed by: Dan Dryden, Kurt Munkacsi, Michael Riesman. Remixed at: The Living Room, Inc. NY, NY. Contractor for the musicians: Earl Shendell. Mastered by: Bill Kipper, Masterdisk, NY, NY.

Album art direction: Eiko Ishioka. Photo: Sukita. Album design: Makoto Kumakura.

SEE ALSO

Mishima