Capture of a Glenn Branca concert in Berlin in 1983. An American composer and guitarist, a figure of New York no wave, Branca is best known for his symphonies for orchestras of electric guitars and percussion, where repetition, alternative tunings and exploration of the harmonic series produce dense sonic masses close to contemporary classical music. In 1983, the period of his Symphony No. 3 (Gloria), he pushed this research toward an almost orchestral intensity. This filmed live version documents an aesthetic at the crossroads of experimental rock and art composition, hard to grasp away from the stage. The full-concert format lets you hear the gradual build of the textures and the physical effect of volume, central to the artist’s approach. A valuable document for understanding an unclassifiable body of work, this live concert illuminates Branca’s influence on generations of musicians. Note: an avant-garde work filed here under the classical genre for lack of a dedicated category. Keywords: Glenn Branca live, electric guitars, filmed concert, avant-garde 1983.
Personnel & credits
- Glenn Branca — composer, conductor
