Philip Glass
- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Glass worked in his father's radio store
and discovered music listening to the offbeat Western classical records
customers didn't seem to want. He studied the violin and flute, and
obtained early admission to the University of Chicago. After graduating
in mathematics and philosophy, he went to New York's Juilliard school,
drove a cab, and studied composition with
Darius Milhaud and others.
At 23, he moved to Paris to study under the legendary
Nadia Boulanger, who taught almost all
of the major Western classical composers of the 20th century. While
there, he discovered Indian classical music while transcribing the
works of Ravi Shankar into Western musical
notation for a French filmmaker. A creative turning point, Glass
researched non-Western music in India and parts of Africa, and applied
the techniques to his own composition.
Back in the United States, Glass spent the late 1960s and early 1970s
driving a taxi cab in New York and creating a major collection of new
music. In 1976, his landmark opera "Einstein on the Beach" was staged
by Robert Wilson to a baffling
variety of reviews. His compositions were so avant-garde that he had to
form the Philip Glass Ensemble to give them a venue for performance.
Although called a minimalist by the Western classical mainstream, he
denies this categorization. His major works include opera, theater
pieces, dance, and song.
His work in film, beginning with
Koyaanisqatsi (1982), gave
filmmakers such as Godfrey Reggio and
Errol Morris a new venue of expression
through the documentary form. His many recordings have also widened his
audience. He was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to compose "The
Voyage" for the Columbus quinquacentennial in 1992. In 1996, he
composed original music for the Atlanta Olympic Games, which, perhaps,
made Glass almost mainstream. Glass remains one of the most important
American composers. His music is distinctive, haunting, and evocative.
Either performed by itself or in collaboration with other media, his
compositions move the listener to unexplored places. More recently, a
major reexamination of Glass's oeuvre has led him to be labeled the
Last Romantic by the musical press.
and discovered music listening to the offbeat Western classical records
customers didn't seem to want. He studied the violin and flute, and
obtained early admission to the University of Chicago. After graduating
in mathematics and philosophy, he went to New York's Juilliard school,
drove a cab, and studied composition with
Darius Milhaud and others.
At 23, he moved to Paris to study under the legendary
Nadia Boulanger, who taught almost all
of the major Western classical composers of the 20th century. While
there, he discovered Indian classical music while transcribing the
works of Ravi Shankar into Western musical
notation for a French filmmaker. A creative turning point, Glass
researched non-Western music in India and parts of Africa, and applied
the techniques to his own composition.
Back in the United States, Glass spent the late 1960s and early 1970s
driving a taxi cab in New York and creating a major collection of new
music. In 1976, his landmark opera "Einstein on the Beach" was staged
by Robert Wilson to a baffling
variety of reviews. His compositions were so avant-garde that he had to
form the Philip Glass Ensemble to give them a venue for performance.
Although called a minimalist by the Western classical mainstream, he
denies this categorization. His major works include opera, theater
pieces, dance, and song.
His work in film, beginning with
Koyaanisqatsi (1982), gave
filmmakers such as Godfrey Reggio and
Errol Morris a new venue of expression
through the documentary form. His many recordings have also widened his
audience. He was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to compose "The
Voyage" for the Columbus quinquacentennial in 1992. In 1996, he
composed original music for the Atlanta Olympic Games, which, perhaps,
made Glass almost mainstream. Glass remains one of the most important
American composers. His music is distinctive, haunting, and evocative.
Either performed by itself or in collaboration with other media, his
compositions move the listener to unexplored places. More recently, a
major reexamination of Glass's oeuvre has led him to be labeled the
Last Romantic by the musical press.