biography |
Glass
(b. 1937), along with Steve Reich, La Monte Young, and Terry
Riley, helped shape the minimalist movement. His highly recognizable
style has won Glass wide critical and commercial acceptance. Glass's
music is marked by its repetitions and bright keyboard figures,
and he has made important inroads into scoring music for films and
unconventional operas. Here are his essential recordings. |
recommended
recordings |
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Glass:
Einstein On The Beach / Michael Riesman |
Composer:
Philip
Glass
Conductor: Michael
Riesman
Wea/Atlantic/Nonesuch - #79323 / September 28, 1993
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here for more information |
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Although Einstein on the Beach is by definition an
opera, Philip Glass's most famous work also transcends traditional
music categories. Glass avoided all vestiges of plot in the
piece and dug deep into his quiver of repetitions to create
an artfully unnerving five hours of brilliance. The instrumental
ensemble never exceeds five members, playing electric keyboards,
saxophones, flutes, and a single violin. Furthermore, the
music congregates around the upper registers, often darting
through its...Read
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Koyaanisqatsi
(1998 Re-recording) [SOUNDTRACK] |
Philip Glass
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here for more information |
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Fifteen years after its initial release, Philip Glass's score
to Godfrey Reggio's film Koyaanisqatsi is still as
timeless as it was meant to be. Glass's epic score, virtually
the only sound in this non-narrative movie, accompanied an
exhilarating, wordless meditation of images ranging from expansive,
slow-motion landscapes to whirling-dervish city scenes shot
using time-lapse techniques. Glass's music was a perfect match.
The opening chant is still unlike anything Glass has composed,
a Tibetan...Read
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Glass:
La Belle et la Bte / Riesman, Philip Glass Ensemble
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Composer:
Philip
Glass
Conductor: Michael
Riesman
Performer: Janice
Felty, John
Kuether, et al.
Ensemble: Philip
Glass Ensemble
Wea/Atlantic/Nonesuch - #79347 / April 18, 1995
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here for more information |
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This is an extraordinary retelling of the classic story "The
Beauty and the Beast", this time based on the Jean Cocteau
film La Belle et la Bete. Philip Glass, one of our
reigning minimalists, studied under Darius Milhaud and Nadia
Boulanger in Paris and his music has always had a quiet Debussy-like
character to it. What is amazing is that Glass is one of the
minimalists who have made a successful transition into opera
(John Adams is the other). And catch the scary silent-movie-house...Read
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Glass:
Music With Changing Parts / Philip Glass Ensemble
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Composer:
Philip
Glass
Ensemble: Philip
Glass Ensemble
Wea/Atlantic/Nonesuch - #79325 / February 1, 1994
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here for more information |
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Philip Glass's early works have purely functional titles,
and this one is no exception. His masterpiece in this repetitious
and rigorously structural composition style-- Music
in Twelve Parts--may be just too much for some people
to take. If so, then this disc may be just the ticket. Of
course, Glass's many fans will snap it up as a matter of course,
but as the title implies, there's somewhat more happening
here than in his very first minimalist works--just enough
so that newcomers to the style...Read
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Glass:
Glassworks / Philip Glass Ensemble |
Composer:
Philip
Glass
Conductor: Michael
Riesman
Performer: Michael
Riesman, Jack
Kripl
Ensemble: Philip
Glass Ensemble
Sony Classics - #37265 / January 1, 1987
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here for more information |
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Glassworks remains Philip Glass's bestseller from the
middle period of his career, the recording by means of which
many listeners familiarized themselves with his music. Conceived
as a thematically whole instrumental studio album taking advantage
of the promotional and marketing capabilities of what was
then Glass's new major label (CBS, now Sony Classical) and
targeted at consumers intrigued with his newfound notoriety,
Glassworks features six parts (three per side on the
original LP and...Read
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works
& recordings |
Complete
List of Works and Recordings
|
resources |
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.
GlassPages:
Philip Glass on the Web - Another extensive site, with
articles, pictures, news, sound files, lyrics, jokes, and
links.
Koyaanisqatsi
- Koyaanisqatsi, an independent film by Godrey Reggio; film
score by Philip Glass.
The
Lost Works of Philip Glass - A wish list of Glass recordings
which either don't exist, or are not available to the (U.S.)
public.
Philip
Glass : Einstein on the Beach - Musical themes of Einstein
on the Beach, first opera of Philip Glass' trilogy.
A
Philip GlassographyPhilip
Glass - The "Rough Guide to Classical Music on CD"
guide to Glass
The
Philip Glass Exponential - The Philip Glass Exponential,
a page for Philip Glass information, concert schedules, and
up to date Philip Glass news.
Philip
Glass Discography - Philip Glass' chronological U.S. album
releases, complete with cover art, track listings, composition
lengths and miscellaneous liner notes.
Philip
Glass - Biography, key works, reviews, articles.
See Also:
Search
for "Glass, Philip" on
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