he's done 13 full operas and 5 chamber operas. it's what he did most
throughout the '90's. Einstein On The Beach might be the most famous.
ironically it was his first, i think. it contains a lot of intricate
voices-as-instrumentation stuff.
in the 60's he (arguably) invented minimalism as it pertains to
classical, while living in nyc and steadily writing & arranging new
pieces involving intricately staggered, repetitive vocals and/or
minimal orchestration. after living in paris for a couple years,
transcribing Ravi Shankar and studying a lot of indian/african music,
he came back to new york and eventually turned out Music In 12 Parts.
Einstein was soon thereafter.
key works, imo, would be Glassworks, Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack, A
Descent into the Maelström, Solo Piano ('89), Einstein on the Beach,
Symphony No. 2 and 3, and The Hours soundtrack. Naqoyqatsi is also
quite good. he's done a number of soundtracks; i listen to The Hours
pretty regularly. it's become one of my favorite pieces of music.
all kinds of info at philipglass.com, of course. an extremely
interesting artist that you should find out about if you have the
inclination. i'm guessing that if Dennis Desantis or others get hold
of this thread they can tell you much more... for sure he can tell you
more about others like Steve Reich and Gavin Bryars.
On Sunday, August 17, 2003, at 01:22 AM, Cyclone Wehner wrote:
I have never been a huge follower of Philip Glass (never got that
far!) but
he gets mentioned often in relation to 313 music. I didn't realise he
composed opera until I saw something in the program of the Melbourne
International Arts Fest - an opera Akhnaten inspired by the 'forgotten'
Pharaoh (fans of Egptology will know his significance) with elements of
dance. It's performed by the State Opera of South Australia. I guess I
am
not a huge opera fan - I only like it if it's being deployed by the
Wu-Tang
or someone as a texture in epic bangin' hip-hop but I may go as it
sounds
interesting.
Anyone able to give a rundown of key Glass works?
