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Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer. His music is frequently described as minimalist, though he prefers the term theatre music. He is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public (apart from precursors such as Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein), in creating an accessibility not previously recognised by the broader market. Glass is extremely prolific as a composer; he has written ensemble works, operas, symphonies, concertos, film scores and for the piano. Glass counts many visual artists, writers, musicians and directors among his friends, including Richard Serra, Chuck Close, Doris Lessing, the late Allen Ginsberg, Robert Wilson, Godfrey Reggio, Ravi Shankar, David Bowie, the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and electronic musician Aphex Twin, who have all collaborated with him. He is Buddhist and a strong supporter of the Tibetan cause. In 1987 he co-founded the Tibet House with Columbia University professor Robert Thurman and the actor Richard Gere. He has two children from his marriage to JoAnne Akalaitis, a theater director (m. 1965, div. 1980), Zachary (b.1969) and Juliet (b. 1971). Glass lives in New York and in Nova Scotia.
Life and Work
Beginnings, education and influences
Glass was born in Baltimore, Maryland as the son of Jewish migrants from Lithuania. His father owned a record store, and his very refined record collection consisted to a large extent of unsold records, and thus Glass encountered modern music (Hindemith, Bartók, Shostakovich) and classical music, (Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartets and Schubert's two Piano Trios), at a very early age. He then studied the flute as a child at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and entered an accelerated college program at the University of Chicago at the age of 15, where he studied Mathematics and Philosophy. He then went on to the Juilliard School of Music where he switched to play the keyboard primarily; his composition teachers included Vincent Persichetti and William Bergsma. In the summer of 1960 he studied with Darius Milhaud, and composed a Violin Concerto for a fellow student, Dorothy Pixley-Rothschild.A next step was Paris, where he studied with the eminent composition teacher Nadia Boulanger from 1963 to 1965, analysing scores of Johann Sebastian Bach (The Well-Tempered Clavier), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (the Piano Concertos) and Beethoven. Glass later stated in his autobiography Music by Philip Glass (1987) that the new music performed at Pierre Boulez's Domaines Musicale concerts in Paris lacked any excitement for him (with notable exceptions of the music by John Cage and Morton Feldman), but he was deeply impressed by performances of new plays at Jean-Louis Barrault's Odéon theatre and the films of the French New Wave, by auteurs such as Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut.
More on [ Philip Glass ]
Students :: Boulanger, Nadia Juliette
American :: North America
Contemporary :: Composers
Minimalism :: Contemporary
Composers :: Movies
Composers :: Choral
Composers :: Lieder
Composers :: Opera
[411Music] Midweek Music News Roundup 1.6.10: M-M-M-Mixtape Evolution: Thom Yorke works with Philip Glass, Garfunke... http://bit.ly/6RW9S9
411Music (411's Music Zone) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:54:29 -0000
[411Music] Midweek Music News Roundup 1.6.10: M-M-M-Mixtape Evolution: Thom Yorke works with Philip Glass, Garfunke... http://bit.ly/6RW9S9
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Philip Glass - Official site. Includes biography, list of works, and calendar.
All Music Guide: Philip Glass - Biography and discography.
Glass Fragments - An introductory site devoted to the discussion of the music of Philip Glass. Contains a suggested listening list for building a collection of Glass recordings.
Meta Description: [ glass fragments - Brian Stewart's Philip Glass Page - a page devoted to the discussion of the music of Philip Glass - a component of the CyberHalides online gallery of fine black and white photographs ]
Glass, Philip - Biography with studies, European and Indian influences, early minimalism, later theatrical works, and noted compositions from the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music entry at WQXR radio.
Glass, Philip (1937 - ) - Brief biography with a summary of his stage works.
Glass, Philip (1937 - ), United States - Biographical data, recommended CDs, books and sheet music, bibliography, and links to biographical essays from Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers.
Meta Description: [ This page contains basic and accurate biographical information and links to essays about the Late 20th Century composer Glass. ]
GlassPages: Philip Glass on the Web - Includes articles, pictures, news, sound files, lyrics, jokes, and links.
Koyaanisqatsi - Koyaanisqatsi, an independent film by Godrey Reggio; film score by Philip Glass.
Meta Description: [ The Qatsi Trilogy: Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and presenting Naqoyqatsi, directed by Godfrey Reggio. ]
mfiles - Philip Glass - Biography, including his film music career, with soundtrack recommendations.
Orange Mountain Music - Philip Glass's Music Label.
Meta Description: [ Orange Mountain Music, OMM, Philip
Glass ]
Philip Glass - Classical Music Pages article from The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music focuses on his music and includes a photograph.
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Philip Glass - Filmography linked to movies and television programs he scored or which used his music plus related credits and links from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
Meta Description: [ Philip Glass - Filmography, Awards, Biography, Agent, Discussions, Photos, News Articles, Fan Sites ]
Philip Glass - Musica Classica Classical Music Dictionary article includes life, works, MIDI audio file, and photographs.
Meta Description: [ Musica Classica - Classical Music - Klassische Musik - Karadar Bertoldi Ensemble - Dizionario della Musica Classica - Classical Music - Klassische Musik - Karadar Bertoldi Ensemble ]
Philip Glass - Biography, key works, reviews, articles.
Meta Description: [ Philip Glass ]
Philip Glass (1937-) - Listing with the Lied and Art Song Texts Page at REC Music includes Whitman text.
Meta Description: [ Free web archive of over 15,000 texts (lyrics) to Lieder and other classical vocal pieces in more than 25 languages. Thousands of translations to English included. ]
Philip Glass in Conversation with Thomas Moore - Interview by the pianist explores some of his multimedia compositions.
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