Ars Musica: Bruce Brubaker plays Eno Piano

Brubaker is to Glass what Glenn Gould is to Bach

American pianist Bruce Brubaker will take the stage on February 23rd for a concert highlighting his 12th studio album Eno Piano. This record, released November 10th on InFiné, encompasses a selection of Brian Eno’s iconic ambient music, including Music for Airports. Can a single instrument convey ambient music originally made through studio techniques and tape loops?

Eno Piano is a companion to Bruce Brubaker’s acclaimed album Glass Piano (2015) — even the two album covers are companions. Named by Pitchfor k “one of the most exciting pianists in the contemporary American classical scene,” Brubaker, in Eno Piano, shows that just as the studio can be a musical instrument, a single musical instrument can be a studio.

Brian Eno’s music is a significant part of the repetition - based musical minimalism practiced by Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and others in the late 20th century. In 1971, Philip Glass performed at the Royal College of Art in London. In the audience were two 23 - year - olds: David Bowie and Brian Eno.

Glass’s  music was a fundamental influence on Eno. Later, Glass wrote three symphonies based on the three albums of Eno and Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy.