Conjunto Ibérico (essentially a Dutch group, in spite of its name) is one of those relatively rare – but, one would hope, increasingly common – ensembles with no stylistic boundaries. They are as at home with Boulez or Halffter as they are with Glass. And how at home they are with Glass! This anthology arose from the composer giving the ensemble carte blanche to explore and arrange his music after hearing them play. What Elias Arizcuren came up with was a ‘musical guide’ to Glass’s oeuvre, and it works magnificently.

The third movement of the Third Symphony is a natural candidate for this treatment; it simultaneously reveals internal connections unsuspected in the original version and facilitates a greater awareness of the music’s textural variety precisely because of the all-cello scoring.

The two arrangements from the string quartets (Nos 2 and 3) are, in my opinion, more satisfactory than the originals. The way ‘Company’ (i.e. Movements I and II from the Second Quartet) positively leaps off the page, and the unsuspected extra richness in Mishima (Movements III and IV from the Third) are proof of the extraordinary alchemy wrought by these players. Façades, beautifully arranged, features some beautiful solo work by Jeroen den Herder and Robert Putowksi.If The Secret Agent convinces me rather less, it is because of the blandness of the score, certainly not because of the performance. However, the disc ends in a blaze with two long sections from Akhnaten (certainly one of Glass’s strongest scores) arranged for seven voices, percussion, electronics and cello octet. The two sections are sonorous frescoes from the Third Act (‘Attack and Fall’) and the first (the scene of the ‘Funeral of Amenhotep III’), and the performances present a tour de force, vibrating with energy and conviction. An absolutely outstanding disc.