Glenn Branca - Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City) For 100 Guitars

2016

The late composer Glenn Branca's Symphony No. 13, aka Hallucination City, premiered in June of 2001 and was one of the last works of art to take place at World Trade Center Plaza. Written in four movements for an orchestra of 100 electric guitar players and intended to be played uninterrupted in just over an hour, the work has become a landmark of avant-garde music, notorious for its maximalism, eccentric tuning, and overwhelming intensity. Branca, a prolifically eclectic creative mind with roots in the no wave rock scene, built a symphony so legendarily iconoclastic that it became synonymous with the furthest extremes of sound.

Glenn Branca's work as a composer spans music for experimental rock bands, large ensemble instrumentals for electric guitars, 16 symphonies, chamber ensemble pieces, an opera, a ballet, choral works and music for film, dance, theater &installation art. Now considered by many to be one of the most influential living composers (both in the fields of alternative and experimental rock, as well as contemporary classical music), Branca's work has inspired and influenced two generations of composers and musicians, major rock stars, Academy Award winners, and Pulitzer prize composers. 

His animated style of conducting has recently begun to change perceptions about the role of the conductor in serious music performance. Branca is the inventor of The Harmonics Guitar and a theory of music based on the Harmonic Series as well as various tuning systems. He has designed and/or built many of the instruments used in a number of his pieces. He is also a founder of The No Wave Movement that started in downtown NYC during the late 70's that has now become, after many decades, an international movement in the underground music scene. 

His works for orchestra have been performed by 14 orchestras worldwide, notably: The London Sinfonietta conducted by Paul Daniel, The Orchestra Of St. Lukes conducted by David Alan Miller and The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson. Hundreds of extensive articles and interviews about Glenn's work have been published in major publications, books and music dictionaries worldwide. He has worked with some of the most important artists of our time: Twyla Tharp, David Bowie, Peter Greenaway, Eiko and Koma, Eric Bogosian, Robert Longo, Laura Dean, Dan Graham, The Wooster Group, The Joffrey Ballet, The Alvin Ailey Company, Sonic Youth, The Kronos String Quartet, The Bang On A Can All-Stars, Crash Ensemble and many others.