Music by Philip Glass

by Philip Glass

Book Overview

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060158239
• ISBN13: 9780060158231
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good info about the composer's life and works through the mid-eighties

I have always found Philip Glass an interesting artifact. Cool name. In the 80s he had a real presence in both the pop and art cultures, and his music has captivated me for entire minutes. However, the whole minimalist / repetitive / whateveryouwanttocallit method loses me fairly quickly. Did I enjoy Koyaanisqatsi? Yeah, but the FILM with the music, rather than listening to the music apart from the movie. And I thought Glass' music added to the film "Kundun" quite well. He has done a number of film scores. He brought his opera "1,000 Airplanes on the Roof" to Ann Arbor and I took my oldest two children with me to hear it. Earlier in the day we went over the SKR Classical and bought some of his albums and he signed them for us. He was very kind and took time to talk with my son and daughter. When the music began I was quite impressed. There is this extremely low rumble that you feel before you hear it and the sound just fills your whole body and soars up and out of your hearing. Beautiful and wonderful stuff. However, the work goes on for three hours. It is an almost incomprehensible story about a man or a woman who works in a copy shop and may or may not have been visited and possessed by aliens. Or he / she might just be nuts. Or maybe there is no such thing as reality. Or maybe it is the idea of a single independent reality that is false. (However, I am pretty sure that all of us there that night had paid with independently real money and gave up an independently real evening). You get the idea. I still thought it a worthwhile experience. My son and daughter have yet to forgive me for making them stay for the whole thing. Personally, I think it is clear that Glass has a certain kind of gift and some real talent. I am just not sure that I think repeating the music until one wants to commit violence is the correct compositional choice. This work came after this book was published. Here, we get a short history of the composer's life, his study at Julliard and with Nadia Boulanger (which is the most important study of his life, I gather). We also learn about the way he got started in music theater, his attitudes towards traditional opera (dead, dead, dead), and the fact that in his earlier days he drove a cab and worked as a plumber to keep body and soul together. I can relate! The rest of the book tells us the background of three of his theater works: "Einstein on the Beach", "Satyargraha", and "Akhnaten". We also get the libretti and some sketches of the musical materials used in the works. The book also includes photos of the works and from his life. If you are interested in Glass at all, this is a good place to get some information about the composer and a few of his major works. The book also discusses many of his other works in passing (through the mid-eighties).

All you ever wanted to know about Glass's music in one place

This book is the quintessential read for anyone interested in the composer be he the music lover realaxing to his recording of "Glassworks" or the avid "Glass-ite" with all five hours of "Einstein on the Beach" memorized (and I salute you). Whatever you wanted to know about Glass and especially the operas can be found here in the composer's own words. Like his music, Glass's book is fluid and encompassing. Seth Bedford (guiseppe@earthlink.net) Midland,TX.

Great explaination of the Portrait Trilogy!

Here is a spectacular explaination of Glass's Portrait Trilogy of operas (Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten), including lots of great insight into the musical subtelties, staging, casting, performances, and production. It includes several excellent pictures (color and B & W) of Glass, his ensemble, and scenes from the three operas. Also, a rare explaination of the staging of Einstein! A good read for anyone interested in modern music