Philip Glass is back to his best in this symphony, which also marks his return, after a number of major works, to writing orchestral music. Unlike his previous three symphonies, in which Glass made a major feature of his use of voices, this is written in the instrumental tradition of the 18th- and 19th-century symphony, yet with unmistakeable Glass trademark. If you’ve never listened to the composer before, this could be a good starting point, with a first movement bursting with energy, before gliding into a passacaglia and ending with the multi-layering of themes in the third. What impresses me about Glass, who will be 70 next year, is that his music always sounds so fresh.Nick Bailey, Classic fm Magazine, 9/1/2006