Truth in our Time

What is truth? Is there such a thing as objective truth? The album is a musical and poetic reflection on the concept of truth. It begins with an exercise in perception, the short film Zeiss After Dark by Nicole Lizée, which evokes the cinematographic effect of the Zeiss lens. This is followed by the poem Strange Absurdities by artist YAO, which calls on us to cultivate our shared humanity. Humanity is also central to what follows: Shostakovich composed his 9th Symphony in the final year of World War II. The authorities' expectation was a grand, triumphant symphony in the manner of Beethoven's Ninth. Instead, Shostakovich created a symphony that deliberately failed to meet expectations in scope and content. In 1945, on the other side of the world, Korngold composed his violin concerto. The concept of truth, what was authentic for Shostakovich or Korngold, seems a matter of personal artistic integrity. The same applies to the world premiere recording of Philip Glass' Symphony No. 13 (2020-2022). It was commissioned in honor of journalist Peter Jennings at a time when journalists around the world were under pressure. Glass himself resisted the idea that music was capable of expressing certain notions of truth. After a series of large-scale symphonic works, his new symphony is only 22 minutes long, making it one of the shortest, and radiates calm and thoughtfulness in all three movements. Glass explains: "What can a piece of music express about the idea of truth? When we look at a figure like Peter Jennings, we are on much better ground for the composer when we talk about what truth is."