The famous wall at the front of Abbey Road Studios is looking particularly bright when the LGT Young Soloists come to record their album of Philip Glass. Not only is the fresh coat of whitewash barely marked by the otherwise perpetually blossoming Beatles graffiti, but also these are beautifully sunny summer days, a rarity for London in 2021.
Any mixed feelings the players may have about missing out on the sunshine, however, are not in evidence inside Studio One as they set to work on the brand-new symphony (no.14 for strings, titled Liechtenstein) that Glass has written for the group. For despite the symphony’s blissful, easy-sounding opening with which the second day’s recording begins, it is a piece of contrasting technical features that need to be executed with focus and attention to detail – and just as much in the more tranquil moments as in the fast passages of the finale. Concentration levels in the room are such that although I am only listening and am nowhere near an instrument, I still worry about ruining a take by merely thinking of playing an arpeggio slightly out of tune.