Philip Glass - Mishima

Philip Glass' soundtrack to Paul Schrader's retelling of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima is one of his strongest early scores, one that retains his essential "Glass-ness," but begins to bring in elements of narrative, creating distinct sounds for each of the sections of Schrader's non-linear storytelling structure. So for Mishima's final day -- when he tried to stage a military coup and ended up committing suicide -- Glass creates tense, suspenseful music with dashes of military drumming. For the sections retelling Mishima's short story Kyoko's House, he recasts his main theme into a composition for '50s-style surf-rock ensemble -- bizarre stuff, indeed. This is stirring, potent music that never once condescends to throw in some sort of Japanese instrument. As a side note, the ever-adept Kronos Quartet handle much of the string sections of this album. ~ Ted Mills, All Music Guide

Name Credits Bill Kipper Mastering Dan Dryden Remixing, Engineer David Harrington Strings Don Christensen Assistant Engineer Earl Shendell Contractor Eiko Ishioka Design, Art Direction George Lucas Executive Producer Hank Dutt Strings Harrington Strings Joan Jeanrenaud Strings John Bailey Photography John Sherba Strings Kazzuo Takenaka Art Direction Kronos Quartet Strings Kurt Munkasci Producer, Remixing Mata Yamamoto Producer Michael Riesman Remixing, Conductor Paul Schrader Liner Notes, Director Philip Glass Keyboards, Composer Sukita Photography Tom Luddy Producer