Index
Recordings
Next Releases
Saxophone is the fourth CD from the archive and studio of Philip Glass
to be released on the new Philip Glass's record company
Orange Mountain Music
(catalog number OMM-0006). This CD of solo and all-saxophone works contains Melodies for
Solo Saxophone performed by Philip Glass Ensmble's member Andrew Sterman, the only
Saxophone Quartet version of the Saxophone Concerto
performed by the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and The Windcatcher performed by the
Philip Glass Ensemble woodwind players Jon Gibson, Richard Peck and Andrew Sterman.
Melodies for Solo Saxophone is a 27 minute set of thirteen pieces
for solo saxophone previously unreleased and originally written by Philip Glass for
Jean Genet's play Prisoner Of Love adapted by Joanne Akalaitis for the New York Theater
Workshop and premièred in July 1995. The Windcatcher is a previously unreleased
11 minute work originally composed for piano and flute in 1992 for the short film
by Susan Charlotte Love Divided by and transcribed by Nico Muhly for saxophone sextet.
It is going to be released in November 2002 in USA.
The Hours is a new film by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) adapted from
Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore,
Meryl Streep, and Ed Harris. The music for the film has been entirely composed by Philip Glass
for piano (performed by Michael Riesman) and string orchestra. The music is all new except some
new arrangements of music from Satyagraha, Glassworks and others. It is going to be released on
Nonesuch Records (catalog number 79693)
on December 10, 2002.
- 600 Lines is an all-Glass upcoming CD performed by Italian ensemble
Alter Ego
featuring the world première recording of 600 Lines, and How Now.
600 Lines is a 50 minute work written by Philip Glass in 1967 for ensemble.
The piece consists of 600 lines of music each equal to 16 beats played in unison.
As a result of its complexity, this work has only ever been performed once in USA, under
the direction of Philip Glass, alongside a group of interpreters that would go on to be known
as the Philip Glass Ensemble. The Alter Ego ensemble, which recently recorded Music in the
Shape of a Square CD, performed the European première of the piece on September 17, 2002 at
Settembre Musica Festival
at Teatro Piccolo Regio "Giacomo Puccini"
in Turin (Italy). How Now is a 25 minute work written by Philip Glass in 1968 originally
for piano solo which turned into an ensemble work for saxophones and electric organs.
It is going to be released on Italian label Stradivarius
in early 2003.
Shattered Glass is an upcoming CD by composer and guitarist
Dominic Frasca performing
his transcriptions of Glass's works Mad Rush, Two Pages and
Metamorphosis No. 1 for 10, 13 and 6 solo string electro/acoustic guitars
which are nylon string guitars with pickups below the bridge altered with special hardware to
play the pieces and each one designed to play just one piece. It will also include
guitar works by Dominic Frasca (Shattered Glass and Forced Entry) and
Five Minetudes by Marc Mellits. It is going to be released in the fall of 2002.
- Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra has been recorded by Dennis Russell
Davies (piano and conductor) and the Stuttgart
Chamber Orchestra. It is a 27 minute work for piano and string orchestra which
premièred on September 22, 2000 by Dennis Russell Davies (piano and conductor) and
the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra at Klangspuren
Festival in Schwaz, Tirol (Austria). It is going to be released as a limited edition
distributed by the Tirol Tourist
Board in 2003.
- Perpetual Motion Machine is an upcoming CD by
Australian ensemble Topology
including Knee Play No. 4 from Einstein of the Beach
as well as And Do They Do by Michael Nyman, Pat's Aria from Nixon in China
by John Adams, Viv's Bum Dance by John Rodgers, McLibel by Robert Davidson,
Millennium Bug by John Babbage, and Variations in a Serious Black Dress
by Elena Kats-Chernin.
- Les Enfants Terribles composed in 1996 (the 14th
of his operas) scored for three electronic keyboards
and four vocal soloists, has been recorded for Nonesuch
Records.
- Variations on a Theme of Philip Glass
for synthesizers, two soprano voices, woodwinds and electric guitar composed
by David
Borden and written for the world's first all-synthesizer ensemble Mother
Mallard is a set of variations based on Screens of Memory from
Glass's music-theatre piece 1000 Airplanes on the Roof.
The first version of this piece was premièred by Mother Mallard in Copenhagen
(Denmark) at the Tivoli Concert Hall in July of 1991. In 1998 David Borden
revised the piece and added new variations. This new version was
premièred by Mother Mallard on October 3, 1999 in its 30th
anniversary concert at Cornell University's Center for Theatre Arts in Ithaca,
NY (USA). A new variation was premièred on April 15, 2000 at the
National Museum of American History in Washington, DC (USA). A recording (the Glass Variations)
is planned to be released in 2002.
Recent Releases
Naqoyqatsi (Life as War) is the third film by Godfrey
Reggio of the -qatsi trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi,
Powaqqatsi). The music for the film has involved about 50
musicians including cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma
conducted by Michael Riesman and it was released on Sony
Classical (catalog number SK 87709) on October 8, 2002.
Glass · Salonen performed by Los
Angeles Master Chorale and Sinfonia Orchestra conducted by Grant Gershon includes
Itaipu by Philip Glass and Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jäderlund
by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Itaipu was previously released in 1993
on Sony Classical performed by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw.
It was released on independent Los Angeles-based record company RCM
Records (catalog number RCM 12004) on September 3, 2002 in USA.
A Descent into the Maelström is the third CD from the archive of Philip Glass recordings
released on the new Philip Glass's record company
Orange Mountain Music
(catalog number OMM-0005). It includes the previously unreleased 65 minute dance/theater work
with music by Philip Glass for ensemble, based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe, with writer/director Matthew Maguire,
and choreographer Molissa Fenley.
It was commissioned by the Adelaide Festival of Arts
in Adelaide (Australia), for the Australian Dance Theater.
It was premiered on March 3, 1986 at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide (Australia).
It was released on July 19, 2002 in USA and August 5, 2002 in UK.
Music of the Human Spirit by American classical guitarist
David Leisner includes a new
arrangement for solo guitar of Knee Play No. 4 from Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass.
It also includes solo guitar works by Alberto Ginastera (Sonata Op. 47), Peter Sculthorpe
(From Kakadu), Richard Winslow (Variations on a Tune of Stephen Foster),
Lou Harrison (Serenade), Francis Poulenc (Sarabande), and Ned Rorem (Suite).
It was released on Azica Records
(catalog number ACD-71218) on June 25, 2002 in USA.
The WNYC Commissions Volume One is a compilation CD commissioned for the 50th
anniversary of New York Public Radio station WNYC.
It includes Now So Long After That Time by Philip Glass for solo piano performed
live by pianist Christopher O'Riley at its world première performance on June 13, 1994
at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
in New York City. This previously unreleased piano piece of six minutes was later included
as part of The Études, a work in progress for solo piano. It also features
world première recordings by Steve Reich (Know What Is Above You),
Laurie Anderson (This House of Blues), Morton Gould (Anniversary Rag),
Richard Einhorn (Carnival of Miracles), Ralph Towner (Simulacrum), and
Derek Bermel (Three Rivers). It is only available through
WNYC
as a thank you gift for supporting it in the 2002 fundraising campaign.
The Best Of Mickey Hart: Over The Edge and Back is a compilation CD by percussionist
Mickey Hart including the previously
unreleased work Call to All Nations, a collaboration with himself, Philip Glass,
Zakir Hussain, Giovanni Hidalgo and Chalo Eduardo for the opening ceremony of the 1996
Olympic Games in Atlanta performed by one hundred percussionists wielding more than a
thousand custom-designed instruments seen and heard by over two billion people on July 19,
1996 in Atlanta (USA). It was relased on Rykodisk
(catalog number 10385) on April 23, 2002 in USA. A DVD-Audio
version was simultaneously released (catalog number 10494) .
Early Voice is the second CD from the archive of Philip Glass recordings
released on the new Philip Glass's record company
Orange Mountain Music
(catalog number OMM-0004). It includes two previously unreleased works by Philip Glass,
Music for Voices performed live by the New York
experimental theater group Mabou Mines
(Philip Glass was one of the co-founders of that company), and Another Look at Harmony,
Part IV featuring the Western
Wind Vocal Ensemble and Michael Riesman.
Music for Voices is a 13 minute piece written for chorus in 1970 and
Another Look at Harmony, Part IV is a 50 minute piece for chorus and
electric organ written in 1970-1975. It was released on April 8, 2002 in USA distributed by
Amazon.com
and on May 20, 2002 in UK.
Glass Reflections is an all-Glass CD performed by Dutch ensemble
Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico
conducted by Elías Arizcuren including Symphony for Eight,
a 10 minute arrangement for 8 cellos of Symphony No. 3,
Movement III, as well as selections of Glass's repertoire arranged for the ensemble
by Elías Arizcuren including music from The Secret Agent,
String Quartets No. 2 & 3, Façades, Attack and Fall
and Funeral of Amenhotep III from Akhnaten.
It was released on Dutch label Ibérico Records (catalogue number CX 4005)
on March 26, 2002 in The Netherlands.
Metamorphosis, by cellist Joan Jeanrenaud,
former member of Kronos Quartet, is a recording of six contemporary compositions including
Glass's Metamorphosis No. 4 arranged by Joan Jeanrenaud for four cellos.
Other compositions featured are The Song of Songs by Karen Tanaka,
Cairn by Stephen Mackey, Escalay by Hamza El Din,
Blood Red by Mark Grey and Altar Piece by Joan Jeanrenaud.
It was independently released (catalogue number JJ23556) by Joan
Jeanrenaud in January 2002 in USA.
Music in the Shape of a Square is an all-Glass CD performed by Italian ensemble
Alter Ego
featuring the world première recording of Piece in the Shape of a Square,
and new versions of Gradus (for bass clarinet), Music in Contrary Motion
(for ensemble), Music in Similar Motion, and Strung Out.
Piece in the Shape of a Square is a 11 minute piece written
by Philip Glass in 1968 for two flutes and the title is based on the Erik Satie's work
Music in the Form of a Pear. It was first performed at Film Makers Cinematheque
in New York City in November 1968 by Jon Gibson and Philip Glass. The music was set up in
a big square, each side about ten feet long. On the inside was tacked Jon Gibson's flute part,
on the outside Philip Glass's part. As they were performing the piece they walked in opposite
directions around the square, and they came to the end of the piece at their starting point.
Gradus is a 1968 piece previously released for solo soprano
saxophone. Music in Contrary Motion is a 1969 piece for solo organ several times
recorded but this is the first recording for ensemble. Strung Out is a 1967 piece for
amplified violin previously recorded by violinist Paul Zukofsky.
It was released on Italian label Stradivarius
(catalog number STR 33602) on November 14, 2001 in Italy and on June 4, 2002 in USA.
Philip on Film: Filmworks by Philip Glass is a limited edition 5 CD box set
of Glass's film music including the previously released soundtracks to the films
Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi,
Dracula, the opera for ensemble and film La Belle et la Bête
(abridged fo fit on a single CD) and a compilation CD with selected tracks from Mishima,
The Thin Blue Line, Anima Mundi,
Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, Kundun
and the previously unreleased music to the new silent short films Diaspora by
Atom Egoyan, The Man in the Bath by Peter Greenaway as well as a new version of
Façades which was used for the short film Evidence by
Godfrey Reggio. It was released on Nonesuch
Records (catalog number 79660-2) on October 2, 2001 in USA and will be available only
during the Philip on Film performance tour of Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble.
The Music of Candyman film soundtracks conducted by Michael Riesman
have being remixed an edited by Don Christensen using the original film cues from
Candyman and Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh
to be released on the new Philip Glass's record company
Orange Mountain Music
(catalog number OMM-0003) on September 21, 2001. This new label record will release archival
recordings of music by Philip Glass and other artists that have collaborated with or have been
associated with him. It will be distributed only through
Amazon.com
and therefore its releases will not be available in physical stores.
Koyaanisqatsi DVD-Audio
recording is based on the 1998 Nonesuch master recording remixed for
surround sound in a very high quality format using a 48 kHz sampling rate with 24 bits of data
(compared to 16 bits for the CD standard) in a 6 channel surround format (left, center, right,
left rear, right rear and sub-base). It is DVD Video-compatible because it contains a Dolby
Digital surround sound mix as well as video screens with stills from the film and the original film
trailer. It was released on Nonesuch Records
(catalog number 79506-9) on August 28, 2001 in USA.
Visions in Metaphor by saxophonist John
Sampen and pianist Marilyn Shrude includes a new arrangement by Marilyn Shrude for solo
soprano saxophone and piano of Façades by Philip Glass. It also includes
works by John Adams (Postmark from Fearful Symmetries), Milton Babbitt (Accompanied Recitative),
Karel Husa (Postcard from Home and Elegie et Rondeau), Pauline Oliveros
(Mirrorrim), William Albright (Postcard from Kansas: Welcome to Interstate-70),
Samuel Adler (Pensive Soliloquy), Marilyn Shrude (Continuum (Postscript '97)),
Bernard Rands (Memo 6), Marilyn Shrude (Visions in Metaphor) and Joan Tower (Wings).
It was released on Albany Records
(catalog number TROY442) on July 24, 2001 in USA.
Compassion: A Tribute to Yehudi Menuhin by violinist Edna Michell includes
Echorus by Philip Glass for two solo violins and string orchestra with narration
by Allen Ginsberg composed in the winter of 1994-95 and dedicated to Edna Mitchell and
Yehudi Menuhin. Allen Ginsberg reads excerpts from his poem Wales Visitation and the other performers
are violinist Ulf Hoelscher with Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Lukas Foss.
This piece (without narration) was previously released on Rückblick Moderne - 20th
Century Orchestral Music 8 CDs compilation on German label Col-Legno in 1999 but in a recent
re-release Glass's track is not included anymore. It also includes works by Steve Reich (Duet
for 2 Violins and Orchestra), John Tavener (Song of the Angel), Shulamit Ran (Yearning),
Chen Yi (Romance of Hsiao and Ch'in), Hans Werner Henze (Adagio adagio),
Yinam Leef (T'Filah), Poul Ruders (Credo), Somei Satoh (Innocence),
Wolfgang Rihm (Cantilena), Iannis Xenakis (Hunem-Iduhey), Lukas Foss (Romance),
Karel Husa (Stèle), Betty Olivero (Achòt Ketana), and György
Kurtág (Ligatura). It was released on Angel
Records (catalog number CDC57179) on June 19, 2001 in USA.
The American Sound: 20th Century American Masters at the Keyboard by American
pianist Gideon Rubin
includes Mad Rush by Philip Glass. It also includes piano pieces by George Gershwin
(Three Preludes), Aaron Jay Kernis (Lullaby), Irving Fine (Music for Piano),
Leonard Bernstein (Selected Anniversaries), and Aaron Copland (Sonata).
It was released on American label GBR Recordings (catalog number GR2117) on June 15, 2001 in USA.
Minimal Piano Works Volume II by Dutch pianist Jeroen Van Veen includes Glass's
Truman Sleeps from the soundtrack to The Truman Show.
It also includes piano pieces by John Cage (In a Landscape), Friedrich Nietzsche (Das 'Fragment
an sich'), Erik Satie (Vexations), Simeon ten Holt (Solodevilsdance IV) and Arvo Pärt
(Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka, Für Alina, Phasing on Pärt).
It was released on Dutch label Van
Veen Productions (catalog number PP 2011) on May 14, 2001 in The Netherlands.
Koyaanisqatsi, opening piece, performed by Mas y Mas, is a 6 tracks
CD single with different remixes of the same theme produced, performed and
arranged by Kay D., Florian Richter and Chris Zippel. It was released
on the label Club Tools (catalogue number 0124735-CLU)
on April 23, 2001 in England.
They Might Be Giants is a CD accompanying the issue number 6 of the quarterly
literary magazine Timothy McSweeney's
including the 1977 piano piece Modern Love Waltz performed by Philip Glass on
piano solo. The piece is intended to accompany Excerpt from 99 Blue Rocks, an story on
drawings by Philip Glass's late wife artist Candy Jernigan. It also includes music by They
Might Be Giants, M. Doughty (of Soul Coughing), Roger Greenawalt and others.
It was published in New York City (USA) in April 2001.
Frame by saxophonist Simon Haram features Glass's Façades
arranged for soprano saxophone, string quartet, and bass guitar performed by Simon Haram
(soprano saxophone), The Duke String Quartet
and Martin Elliot (bass guitar). It also includes Frame, Hard Fairy and
Glass by Graham Fitkin, The Piano Sings by Michael Nyman and Forbidden
Colours by Ryuichi Sakamoto. It was released on Black
Box Music (catalog number BBM1055) on April 2, 2001 in England.
Music for Organ performed by Kevin Bowyer at the Marcussen Organ
at Tonbridge School, Kent (UK) has been released on Nimbus
Records (catalogue number NI 5664) on February 1, 2001. It features Glass's composition for
organ Dance No. 2, Satyagraha - Act III Finale and Dance No. 4
along with the world première recording of Duets and Canons by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent.
Satyagraha has been released for the first time on DVD featuring the TV recording
of a 1983 live performance at the Staatstheater Stuttgart (Germany) in a production
by stage director Achim Freyer and music conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. It was relased on
the German video label Arthaus Musik
(catalog number 100 136 PAL) on January 29, 2001 in Europe. This 168 minute DVD documentary
has region 2 & 5 encoding (Europe, Middle East, Japan, South Africa, Russia, India, Africa,
North Korea and Mongolia). It was released in USA with region 1 encoding (US and Canada)
on Image Entertainment
(catalog number 9246RA) December 18, 2001.
Early Keyboard Music of Philip Glass performed by
Steffen Schleiermacher
playing electric organ has been released on the German label MDG
(catalogue number 613 1027-2) on January 19, 2001. It features the world première recording of
One + One in two different versions, Contrary Motion, Mad Rush
and Two Pages. One + One was written by Philip Glass in 1968 for one player
and amplified table top as a set of instructions for the constructing and independent testing
of the additive musical principle. MDG is distributed in USA by Koch
International and on March 27, 2001 in USA.
Party in Lyceum's Toilets by Belgian pop band Awaken
is a double CD concept-album with original songs and cover versions of many artists including
short excerpts of Glass's Koyaanisqatsi, opening theme and Open the Kingdom from
Songs from Liquid Days. It was independently
released (catalogue number AWALP-002) in January 2001 in Belgium.
Mantra Mix was re-released in USA with
a different track listing and a bonus enhanced CD including Compassion
in Exile by Philip Glass originally written as the main theme of the soundtrack to
Mickey Lemle's 1992 video documentary Compassion in Exile: The Story of
the 14th Dalai Lama. Other famous contributors are
Chemical Brothers, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor, R.E.M., David Byrne, Massive Attack,
Natalie Merchant, Moby, Peter Gabriel, etc. It was originally released
in 1996 on Mushroom Records in Australia and New Zealand as a compilation benefit album
to raise funds for Tibet. The new album supports His Holiness the Dalai
Lama and the plight of Tibetan refugees. All artists's royalties have been donated to the
Foundation For The Preservation Of The Mahayana
Tradition (FPMT) - an organisation committed to helping Tibetan refugees throughout the
world. It was released on Narada
(catalog number 50294) on October 24, 2000 in USA.
Silencio performed by violinist Gidon Kremer
and his Kremerata Baltica is a meditative collection of 20th century works for string orchestra,
including Company (for String Orchestra) by Philip Glass. It was originally composed in 1983
for the theater company Mabou Mines for its play based
on Samuel Beckett's short novel of the same name. Later it became Glass's String Quartet No. 2 and
received its first recording by Kronos Quartet, on their self-titled debut, in 1986.
It is heard here in an adaptation for string orchestra. The disc also included the works by Arvo Pärt
Tabula Rasa and Darf ich and "Come in!" by the Russian composer Vladimir
Martynov. It was released on Nonesuch Records (catalog
number 79582-2) on October 10, 2000.
Symphony No. 5: Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya performed by Vienna
Radio Symphony Orchestra and Budapest Children's Choir conducted by Dennis Russell Davies was released
on Nonesuch Records (catalog number 79618-2) on October 3,
2000 in USA and November 13, 2000 in Europe. This large scale work for orchestra, chorus and
voice was commissioned and conceived as a millennium celebration work for
the Salzburg
Festival. The vocal text compiled and
edited by Philip Glass, James Parks Morton and Kusumita P. Pedersen
draws from traditional sources throughout the world. It was premièred by
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Chorus Orfeón
Donostiarra of San Sebastián (Spain), Childrens's Choir of the Hungarian
Radio and soloists Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Lorraine Hunt (mezzo), Michael Schade
(tenor), Eric Owens (baritone) and Franz-Josef Selig (bass) conducted by Dennis
Russell Davies on August 28, 1999 in Salzburg (Austria).
Three Songs for Chorus a Capella were recorded for the first time by
Crouch End Festival Chorus, conducted by
David Temple for
Silva Classics (SILKD6023).
The Three Songs featured on an all-Glass CD which also contained
Songs from Liquid Days, in a version for soloists, chorus and
orchestra arranged by Jeremy Marchant
performed by the National Sinfonia and Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by
David Temple featuring Najma Akthar and Wills Morgan and Vessels from Koyaanisqatsi.
The three songs are There Are Some Men (Lyrics in English by Leonard
Cohen), Quand les Hommes Vivront d'Amour (Lyrics in French by Raymond
Levesque) and Piere de Soleil (Lyrics in French by Octavio Paz). This
twelve minute choral work was composed in 1984 for the Quebec 1534-1984 Festival.
An excerpt from There Are Some Men can be heard at Crouch End Festival Chorus's
Concert Calendar web site. The recording was
released on October 2, 2000 in UK and October 24, 2000 in USA.
Glass Cage is a recording of solo piano works by Philip Glass and John Cage
by American pianist Bruce Brubaker. It includes Glass's Metamorphosis,
Mad Rush, and Satyagraha: Act III - Conclusion arranged for piano.
It also includes the piano pieces by John Cage A Room (from She is Asleep) and Dream.
A graduate of the Juilliard School (like Philip Glass himself) where he was awarded the
school's highest prize, Brubaker was named Young Musician of the Year by the magazine Musical
America after his 1988 New York debut at Alice Tully Hall. It was released on
Arabesque Recordings (catalog number
6744) on September 12, 2000 in USA.
Piano Music of Philip Glass by American pianist
Aleck Karis
includes Metamorphosis, Mad Rush, Wichita Vortex Sutra,
Opening from Glassworks and Modern Love Waltz originally
written by Philip Glass in 1977 for Constance DeJong's performance of her novel Modern Love.
It was released on Roméo Records (catalog number 7204) on September 1, 2000 in USA and
it is distributed by Qualiton.
Piano Dance: A 20th-Century Portrait by pianist Gloria Cheng includes
Modern Love Waltz written by Philip Glass in 1977 for Constance DeJong's
performance of her novel Modern Love. This collection of dance music written for
the piano also includes compositions by Joan Huang, William Albright, Claude Debussy, Samuel
Adler, Paul Hindemith, Bahuslav Martinu, György Ligeti, Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Samuel
Barber, Per Norgard, Leo Ornstein, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Ravel, George
Antheil, Henry Cowel, Sergei Prokofiev, Federico Mompou, Alberto Ginastera, Donald R. Davis
and Miguel del Aguila. It was released on Telarc
label (catalog number 80549) on July 25, 2000.
Symphony No. 3, The Light, Mechanical
Ballet from The Voyage and Interludes Nos. 1 & 2
from the CIVIL warS (Rome Section) performed by Vienna
Radio Symphony Orchestra and Stuttgart
Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies was released
on May 30, 2000 on Nonesuch Records (catalog number 79581-2) in USA.
Symphony No. 3 is a 24 minute work for string orchestra commissioned
by the Würth Foundation for
the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and it was premièred by the Stuttgart Chamber
Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies in Künzelsau (Germany) on February
5, 1995. The Light is a 21 minute orchestral work conceived as
the first part of Glass's "portraits of nature" (The
Canyon and Itaipu are the other parts)
commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary of the Michelson-Morley experiment
that confirmed the way light travels through space and it was premièred on
October 29, 1987 by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph von
Dohnányi. Mechanical Ballet is a six minute orchestral
interlude from Act I, Scene 2 of The Voyage, the opera commissioned by the
Metropolitan Opera in commemoration
of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus at America and
premièred at the Metropolitan Opera conducted by Bruce Ferden in New York
City (USA) on October 12, 1992. The two Interludes from the CIVIL warS
were previously unreleased.
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Prelude
from Akhnaten, Dance from
Akhnaten and Company (for
String Orchestra) performed by violinist Adele Anthony and
Ulster
Orchestra conducted by Takuo Yuasa was released on
Naxos label (catalog number
8.554568) on April 3, 2000 in Europe and May 2, 2000 in USA. Prelude
(12 minutes) and Dance (5 minutes) from the 1984 opera Akhnaten
are available here for the first time as independent orchestral works.
Condo Painting is a documentary film by John McNaughton about
New York City painter George
Condo. The soundtrack album includes a previously unreleased short excerpt
(1:40) originally written by Philip Glass for Mickey Lemle's 1992 documentary
Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama. Other
cue from this unreleased soundtrack was included in rare discs such as New
Age Music & New Sounds Vol. 50 and Mantra Mix.
It also includes previously unreleased music by Dana Colley, Juliana Hatfield,
Kelly Joe Phelps and Joey Altruda, as well as other tracks by DJ Spooky,
The Residents, Tom Waits, Sonic Youth, Phish, Ken Hale, King Crimson, Double
Naught Spy Car, Sebadoh and Morphine. It was released on
Gallery Six Records
(catalog number RSR-0016) on April 18, 2000 in USA.
Punishing Kiss is an album by German singer
Ute
Lemper including a collection of original contemporary songs by artists such
as Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy, Scott
Walker and Philip Glass. The Glass's song, previously unreleased, is Streets
of Berlin originally written from the film Bent scored for voice
and solo piano with lyrics by Martin Sherman and arranged here for a pop
instrumentation done by The Divine Comedy. It was released internationally on
Decca (catalog number
466473) on March 27, 2000. In France it included a bonus CD (with three of
the songs in French) and other editions were released on March 1, 2000 in
Japan (with a bonus track) and April 4, 2000 in USA.
I Döda Mästares Sällskap 5: Levande Tradition
(In the Company of Dead Masters 5: Living Tradition) is a disc performed by
Swedish pianist Hans Pålsson including Metamorphosis Five.
"I Döda Mästares Sällskap" is a Swedish TV show
where Hans Pålsson talks about and plays classical piano pieces.
The disc includes all the music played in the 5th series of the show,
which is currently being shown on Swedish TV. The other pieces
are by Beethoven, Chopin, Börtz, Mozart, Pärt, Bach,
Grieg, Villa-Lobos, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Shostakovich, Schumann,
Debussy, Takemitsu, Schubert and Satie. It was released on
Naxos Sweden (catalog
number 8.554794) on December 28, 1999 in Sweden (Information
kindly provided by Ola Torstensson).
Minimal Piano Works, Volume 1 is an entire disc of piano music of
Philip Glass performed by Dutch pianist Jeroen
Van Veen. It includes Metamorphosis, Mad Rush,
Wichita Vortex Sutra and an eleven minute arrangement of Opening
from Glassworks. This is the first volume of a set of upcoming discs
of minimal piano pieces of composers such as John Adams, Arvo Pärt, John Cage,
Louis Andriessen, Simeon Ten Holt, etc. It was released
on Dutch label Piano
Productions (catalog number PP 9910) on December 14, 1999 in The Netherlands.
French pianist and composer Jay Gottlieb has recorded an
entire disc of piano music of Philip Glass including a piano
version previously unreleased of The Olympian - Lighting of the Torch
composed for the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games and released on its
original orchestral version on The Official Music
of the 1984 Games LP. The other piano works on the disc are Metamorphosis,
Mad Rush, Wichita Vortex Sutra and Opening
from Glassworks. Like Philip Glass himself, Jay Gottlieb studied at
Juilliard School and also with Nadia Boulanger and he has gaigned international
reputation and awards. It was released on French
label PianoVox (catalog number PIA 520) on October 5, 1999 in France.
It was re-issued on French label Ogam
(catalogue number: 488007-2) in 2002.
Dracula, Philip Glass's newly composed score for the
1931 classic film by Tod Browning starring Béla Lugosi, has been written
for string quartet performing Kronos
Quartet. It was commissioned by Universal
Family and Home Entertainment Production for inclusion as part of Universal's
Classic Monsters collection, to be released on video. The CD was released
on Nonesuch Records (catalog number 79542) on August 31, 1999 in USA.
A small promotional tour accompanied this event screening the film
with the soundtrack performed live by Kronos Quartet assisted by Philip Glass
playing piano in some parts conducted by Michael Riesman. It was premièred on
September 4, 1999 at Telluride
Film Festival in Telluride, CO (USA).
A new version of Concerto for Violin and Orchestra performing
violinist Robert McDuffie and Houston
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach was released
on Telarc label (catalog
number 80494) on August 9, 1999 in UK and August 24, 1999 in USA.
It also included Violin Concerto by John
Adams.
Aguas da Amazonia (Amazonian waters) performed by Brazilian instrumental
ensemble Uakti
(pronounced "wah-ke-chee") conducted by Marco Antônio Guimarães,
features previously unreleased music composed by Philip Glass in 1993 for
a ballet for Grupo
Corpo Brazilian Dance Theatre originally entitled 7 or 8 Pieces for a Ballet.
The disc also includes Metamorphosis I arranged by Marco Antônio
Guimarães for Uakti's instruments.
Philip Glass became acquainted with Uakti through their performance on Paul
Simon's Rhythm of the Saints album and they have recorded since then
four albums on Point Music where Philip Glass was artistic director. It
was released on Point
Music (catalog number 289464064) on August 3, 1999 in USA.
Music of the Movies is a compilation of orchestral cover versions of
famous movie themes performed by American Film Orchestra including The
Truman Show Suite from the soundtrack to Peter Weir's film The
Truman Show after Glass's works The Beginning and Living
Waters (from Anima Mundi) and Truman Sleeps
(from The Truman Show). It also features interpretations
of music of the movies Armageddon, Godzilla, Dr. Doolittle, Saving Private Ryan,
Deep Impact, A Bug's Life, Prince Of Egypt, Titanic and The Truman Show.
It was released on May 11, 1999 on the label First Choice (catalog number 4634)
distributed in USA by Platinum
Entertainment.
Klassische und jiddische Lieder (Classical and Yiddish Songs) performed by German
vocal ensemble Trio A Due features Glass's
Freezing from Songs from Liquid Days arranged for piano and voice.
Trio a Due are Felicitas Weyer (mezzo-soprano & piano) and Almut Seebeck (soprano).
This is a live recording at the Alte Oper Frankfurt on November 10, 1998. It also features songs
by Johannes Brahms and Shlomo Secunda.
[
]
Concerts
Next Events
Main Past Events
- September 21, 2002: Concerto for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra
(World Première) performed by harpsichordist Jillon Stoppels Dupree with
Northwest Chamber Orchestra conducted by
Ralf Gothóni at Benaroya
Hall in Seattle, Washington (USA).
- June 24, 2002: Galileo, Galilei (World Première),
a new opera in ten scenes by Philip Glass adapted from the life of the famous Italian
scientist Galileo by Mary Zimmerman with Philip Glass and Arnold Weinstein, libretto by
Arnold Weinstein directed by Mary Zimmerman and music conducted by Beatrice Jona Affron
at Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre
in Chicago, Illinois (USA).
- February 3, 2002: Symphony No. 6 (Plutonian Ode) (World Première) performed by
American Composers Orchestra
and soprano Lauren Flanigan conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Isaac Stern Auditorium,
Carnegie Hall in New York City (USA).
- November 30, 2001: Dancissimo (World Première)
performed by Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Andreas Delfs at Uihlein Hall, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA).
- October 21, 2001: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (World Première)
performed by cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
with China Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yu Long at Poly Theatre,
Beijing Music Festival in Beijing (China).
- July 26, 2001: Film Shorts (World Première)
in a screening of new short films by Peter Greenaway (The Man in the Bath),
Atom Egoyan (Diaspora), Shirin Neshat (Passage), Michal Rovner (Notes),
and Godfrey Reggio (Anima Mundi and Evidence) with the score performed
live by Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble conducted by Michael Riesman
at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln
Center Festival in New York City (USA).
- May 25, 2001: Voices (World Première) for pipe organ,
two didgeridoos, clap sticks and narrator performed by didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins,
Calvin Bowman (organ), Ron Murray (second didgeridoo and clapsticks) and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy
Wandin (narrator) at City of Melbourne
Town Hall to celebrate the refurbishment of the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ as part of a
concert in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
subscription season in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia).
- 2000 / 2001 Touring
Season:
The
Music and Film with the film presented on the screen and the soundtrack performed live
by Philip Glass (keyboards), Michael Riesman (keyboards) and Kronos
Quartet conducted by Michael Riesman.
- September 22, 2000: Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (World Première)
performed by Dennis Russell Davies (piano and conductor) and Stuttgart
Chamber Orchestra at the 7th annual Klangspuren
Festival in Schwaz, Tirol (Austria). This concert was broadcast live on Austrian
radiostation Österreich 1
and by German Radio Berlin on October 9, 2000.
- August 31, 2000: In the Penal Colony (World Première),
a new chamber opera for two singers, three actors and a string quintet with libretto by
Rudolph Wurlitzer based on the original story by Franz Kafka directed by JoAnne Akalaitis
with choreography by Pat Graney and Alan Johnson conducting the Metropolitan
String Ensemble with singers John Duykers as The Visitor, and Herbert Perry and Eugene Perry
doubling as The Officer, and José J. Gonzales, Steven M. Levine, and Matt Seidman in
nonsinging roles at the Falls Theatre, A
Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle, Washington (USA).
- August 28, 1999: Symphony No. 5: Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya
(World Première) performed by Vienna
Radio Symphony Orchestra (Austria), Chorus Orfeón
Donostiarra of San Sebastián (Spain), Children's Choir of the
Hungarian Radio and soloists Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Lorraine Hunt (mezzo),
Michael Schade (tenor), Eric Owens (baritone) and Franz-Josef Selig (bass)
conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Salzburg
Festival, Large Festival Hall in Salzburg (Austria). The concert was
broadcast on Austrian radiostation Österreich 1 on September 3, 1999
and by Canadian CBC Radio Two on November 7, 1999.
[]
Operas
Next Operas
The Sound of a Voice is an upcoming chamber opera by Philip Glass,
scored for two singers, a man and a woman,
and a small ensemble with Asian and Western instrumentation including a pikpa player.
It is going to be directed by Robert Woodruff and the libretto written by Asian-American
playwright David Henry Hwang is based on his one act play originally appeared at
The New York Public Theatre in the early 80's in which the dreams and fantasies of
a Japanese writer and an aging warrior are laid bare.
Philip Glass's previous collaborations with David Henry Hwang include The Voyage,
1000 Airplanes on the Roof and After Eros.
It has been commissioned by
A.R.T. - American Repertory Theater
in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA). It is going to be premièred at
the Loeb Drama Center,
A.R.T. - American Repertory Theater
in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) on May 24, 2003 and will continue for performances
through June 28, 2003.
- Waiting for the Barbarians is a future opera project in two acts by
Philip Glass with libretto by Christopher Hampton based on the 1982 novel by South African
writer John Michael Coetzee which won the Booker Prize. It is a startling allegory of the war
between oppresor and oppressed. It is the story of a loyal servant of the Empire witnessing
the Empire's cruel and unjust treatment of prisoners of war with the barbarians and
commiting a quixotic act of rebellion that brands him an enemy of the state.
- The Memoirs of a Survivor is a future opera project by Philip Glass
with libretto based on the novel written by Doris Lessing in 1988. It is a magical tale
describing the charged emotional atmosphere a few years from now, when barbarism is the
norm and each of us has to struggle to survive. It will be the final part of the trilogy
of operas based on novels by British writer Doris
Lessing. The other parts of the trilogy are the operas The Making of the Representative
for Planet 8 (1986) and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1997).
- The Palace of the Arabian Nights should be the first part
of a two-operas historical project on discoveries by Philip Glass in collaboration
with American designer Robert
Wilson. The story will start in ninth century at the time of the spread of
Islam until the beginning of the Renaissance. The libretto will be written by
an expert on dervish poetry. This future project is still awaiting a commission.
The second part is O Corvo Branco (White Raven) covering the Renaissance,
the Portuguese discoveries until nowadays and to the future.
Recent Operas
Galileo Galilei is an opera by Philip Glass (the 18th of his
operas) in ten scenes adapted from the life of the Italian
scientist Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) accused heretic by the Inquisition. It is directed by
Mary Zimmerman, with libretto by Mary Zimmerman with Philip Glass and Arnold Weinstein.
Drawing from letters of Galileo and his family, and various other documents, it retrospectively
journeys through Galileo's life. Opening with him as an old, blind man after the trial and
Inquisition for his heresy, it explores his religiosity as well as his break with the church,
and expands into the greater, oscillating relationship of science to both religion and art,
reaching its end with Galileo -as an infant- watching an opera composed by his father.
It was commissioned by the Goodman
Theatre for the 2001-2002 Season. It was premièred on June 24, 2002 (previews begun
on June 14, 2002) and continues for performances through August 4, 2002 directed by Mary
Zimmerman and music conducted by Beatrice Jona Affron at Albert
Ivar Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois (USA). Further performances continued at
Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City
(USA) on October 1, 3 - 5, 2002. The European première will be performed at
The Barbican Center in London (UK)
on November 1 - 3, 5 - 9, 2002.
For more information, visit Mark
Walther's tribute to this opera.
In the Penal Colony is a chamber opera composed by Philip Glass in 2000
(the 17th of his operas) scored for string quintet
(string quartet plus double bass), two male singers (bass and baritone) and three actors
in nonsinging roles directed by Philip Glass's ex-wife JoAnne Akalaitis with choreography by
Pat Graney. It is a commission by A
Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle (USA) produced in collaboration with
Court Theatre in Chicago (USA).
The libretto written by Rudolph Wurlitzer is based on the tale of the same name
by Czech writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924). The original story was written in 1919
and it is on the surface a frightening fantasy on prisons and torture, but as
the tale unfolds we can see a struggle between enlightenment and the conquering
of the human spirit. A visitor comes to witness an execution by a machine of
capital punishment which he deems as antiquated and inhumane but the colony's
presiding officer cannot imagine justice without this machine. This was the
second work by Philip Glass based on a story by Franz Kafka, the first
one was written in 1988 for a play on Kafka's Metamorphosis.
It was premièred at A Contemporary
Theatre (ACT) in Seattle, Washington (USA) on August 31, 2000, performed by
Alan Johnson conducting the Metropolitan String Ensemble with singers John Duykers as
The Visitor, and Herbert Perry and Eugene Perry doubling as The Officer, and José
Gonzales, Steven M. Levine, and Matt Seidman in nonsinging roles. It was also performed
at Court Theatre in Chicago, Illinois
(USA) from November 1 to December 10, 2000 and at Classic
Stage Company from June 14 to July 15, 2001 in New York City (USA). The European première
was directed by Birgitta Trommler at Staatstheater
Darmstadt in Darmstadt (Germany) on March 24, 2002.
O Corvo Branco (White Raven) is an opera composed by
Philip Glass in 1991 (the 10th of his operas)
in collaboration with American designer Robert
Wilson. The opera is in five acts with two overtures, four "knee plays"
and epilogue. It is scored for orchestra, chorus and soloists. The libretto was
written by Portuguese writer Luísa Costa Gomes (in Portuguese, a
language that Philip Glass speaks) and the story takes the Portuguese maritime
discoveries of the fifteenth century as a starting point to focus on the
ecological issues of the modern world, such as the pollution of the oceans and
the destruction of the Amazon forests. Mythically, the raven was white,
representing the pristine purity of the world, but it turned black when people
began to exploit each other and their environment. This opera is the final part of an
historical project on discoveries which first part, awaiting a commission, The Palace
of the Arabian Nights, will cover from ninth century to the beginning of the Renaissance.
It was commissioned by the Committee for the Portuguese Discoveries for the
World Expo '98 in Lisbon (Portugal) and
Teatro Real in Madrid (Spain).
It was premièred by Orquesta Sinfónica Portuguesa and Coro do Teatro
Nacional São Carlos conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Teatro Camões
at the World Expo '98 in Lisbon (Portugal) on September 26, 1998. It was also performed
from November 28 to December 5, 1998 at Teatro
Real in Madrid. The performance on December 4, 1998 was broadcast live on Spanish
TV - 2nd channel (TVE2) and Spanish
National Radio (RNE) - Classical Radio. The American première was
performed by American Composers Orchestra
conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Lincoln
Center Festival on July 10, 2001 in New York City (USA).
Monsters of Grace, is a digital opera in three dimensions
composed by Philip Glass in 1998 (the 16th of his
operas) in collaboration with American designer
Robert Wilson. It
is scored for four live amplified voices, woodwinds, keyboards, Macintosh
computers, MIDI interface and custom-designed sampled Persian and other
Middle-Eastern string and percussion instruments with 13 three-dimensional
computer animated scenes created by Kleiser-Walczak
Construction Company and projected onto a large screen in the 70mm
stereoscopic film format directed by Diana Walczak and Jeff Kleiser. The
libretto is based on 9 poems by the 13th century Persian poet
Yalal al-Din Rumi, the
original whirling dervish, translated and adapted to English by Coleman Barks.
Due to numerous changes made at the end by the perfectionist theater director,
the 3-D computer animated images were not completely finished for all the
scenes at time, and some of them were staged for live performance in the first
versions. It was premièred (Version 1.0) on April 15, 1998 in Los
Angeles, USA. Next version was performed in London, UK (Version 1.2) and the
last version with staged scenes was performed in Peralada, Spain (Version 1.3).
For further details, read the full credits, notes and
schedule information. An interview with Philip Glass on this opera and
sound excerpts were aired on April 16, 1998 on
KCRW
and an excerpt can be found at Glass Pages Audio Section.
The
Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five is an opera composed by Philip Glass
in 1997 (the 15th of his operas) in collaboration
with British writer Doris Lessing.
The opera is in two acts and is scored for orchestra, chorus and soloists. The normal string
section of the orchestra is here deliberately missing and is substitued by a 40-voice chorus.
The libretto written in English by Doris Lessing is based on her novel of the same name.
They collaborated previously in The Making of the Representative for Planet 8
opera in 1986. It was commissioned by the State Government of Baden-Württemberg and the
Cement Corporation of Heidelberg (Germany). It was premièred at Theater der Stadt in
Heidelberg (Germany) on May 10, 1997
directed by Birgitta Trommler and conducted by Thomas Kalb. For the Heidelberg production the
libretto was translated into German by Saskia M. Wesnigk. The novel belongs to the genre of
fantasy and explores the fights between men and women and the dimensions of sex and love in
three different cultures and ways of life (zones in the novel). It was first performed in its
original English-language version on June 7, 2001 (American première) at
DePaul Opera Theatre directed by Harry
Silverstein and performed by the Chicago Cammerata conducted by Robert Kaminskas in Chicago,
Illinois (USA).
Les
Enfants Terribles (subtitled Children of the Game) is the third
opera by Philip Glass (the 14th of his operas)
of the trilogy related to French artist Jean Cocteau (b. 1889, d. 1963).
The other parts of the trilogy are the chamber opera Orphée
(1993) and the opera for film La Belle et la Bête (1994).
It was premièred on May 18, 1996 in Zug (Switzerland).
It is not properly an opera but a "dance-opera spectacle" and is
a collaboration with American choreographer Susan Marshall. Both made the
adaptation of the novel by Jean Cocteau published in Paris in 1929.
Philip Glass himself wrote the libretto. The story is a tragedy about a brother
and a sister living in their own world of fantasy, narcissistic love and
games of children and their incapacity to go out of this world when they
grow up. The opera-ballet is in 27 scenes with seven (or eight) dancers
and four singers but all in perfect balance even representing singers and
dancers the same characters at the same time, illustrating various aspects
of their personalities simultaneously. The music is scored for three electronic
keyboards played by members of the Philip Glass Ensemble with Philip Glass
among them and directed by Karen Kamensek. An interview with Philip Glass on
this opera and sound excerpts were aired on October 23, 1997 on
KCRW.
It has been recorded for Nonesuch Records.
[]
Soundtracks
Next Soundtracks
The Hours
is a new film produced by Scott Rudin and directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot)
adapted from Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Ed Harris.
This drama tells three stories simultaneously of women in different times, all drawn upon
the writings and life of author Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman).
One story is about the author herself in 1923 while she's writing her book, Mrs. Dalloway.
The second story is about a housewife (Julianne Moore) who can't stop reading Mrs. Dalloway
and is planning a birthday party for her husband. The third is about a modern day New York
woman (Meryl Streep) throwing a party for her friend and former lover (Ed Harris) dying of AIDS.
It is planned a release date of December 27, 2002 to qualify for Oscar nominations and would
expand wider in January or February, 2003. It will be distributed by Paramount Pictures (USA),
and Miramax Pictures (international).
The music for the film has been entirely composed by Philip Glass for piano (performed by
Michael Riesman) and string orchestra and it will be released on
Nonesuch Records on December 10, 2002.
Pandemic: Facing AIDS
is an upcoming documentary five-part series film by Rory Kennedy with original music by Philip Glass
produced by Moxie Firecracker Films,
in association with The Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation and HBO and Home Box Office
(HBO). It focuses on the impact of AIDS in five countries around the world: Uganda, India,
Brazil, Thailand and Russia following the personal stories of people who are living with
HIV/AIDS and the organizations that work to provide treatment and prevent further transmission.
The five-part series will be aired on HBO
TV channel in Spring 2003 in USA.
The McNamara Project is an upcoming documentary film by Errol Morris
(The Thin Blue Line, A Brief History of Time)
about Robert McNamara, USA Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administration
who subsequently became president of the World Bank. It will combine an interview with
Mr. McNamara discussing some of the tragedies and glories of the 20th Century,
archival footage, documents, and an original score by Philip Glass.
Recent Soundtracks
- DVD releases of Glass's scored films:
- Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête, with Glass's opera score remixed
in Dolby Digital, will be released on the Criterion
Collection in the Spring of 2003 in USA.
-
Tod Browning's Dracula DVD, with Glass's new score performed by Kronos Quartet
was released on October 14, 2002 in Europe (region 2 encoding). It was previously released
in USA (region 1) on December 21, 1999.
Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi two pack DVD were
released by MGM Home Entertainment on
September 17, 2002 in USA (region 1 only, for now). They are also available separately.
Both original soundtracks were remixed in Dolby Digital. The DVDs are in widescreen format
and include the 30 minute documentary Essence of Life featuring interviews with
Philip Glass and Godfrey Reggio as well as theatrical trailers from Koyaanisqatsi,
Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi.
- Godfrey Reggio's Powaqqatsi was released on September 14, 2001 in Germany.
- Bill Condon's Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh was released on August 28, 2001 in USA.
- Paul Schrader's Mishima was released on August 7, 2001 in USA.
The Baroness and the Pig
is a new film by Michael MacKenzie based on his play with new music by Philip Glass.
It is an historical drama set in the late-19th century period piece set in Paris
starring Patricia Clarkson, Colm Feore, Caroline Dhavernas, and Bernard Hepton.
It is produced by Media Principia Inc.,
a film production company specialized in making films that draw on new digital producion
technologies. The film was shot entirely in digital high definition (HDTV) filmed on location
in Hungary. The post-production work in digital high definition was completed in the
Ex-Centris studios in Montreal (Canada).
It was first shown on September 8, 2002 at Toronto
International Film Festival in Toronto (Canada).
Naqoyqatsi (Life as War)
by Godfrey Reggio
is the third film of the -qatsi trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi,
Powaqqatsi). From the Hopi language, Natkoy means war,
Katsi means life and in its compound term it means war as a way of life.
It merges the power of image and music to plunge into the heart
of the hyper-accelerated, globally wired 21st century. Mesmerizing images plucked
from everyday reality, then visually altered with state-of-the-art digital techniques,
stream across the screen in synch with a hypnotic score by Philip Glass, featuring the
passionate cello work of Yo-Yo Ma.
Despite the film's nonverbal nature, the ultimate effect of its starkly futuristic,
computer-enhanced visual fabric is to get people talking about how technology is altering
everything and the very face of the human future. Like a concert, it unfolds in three movements.
Movement One/Numerica.com explores the newly wired world and the ongoing evolution from
human language to numerical code. Movement Two/Circus Maximus delves into the realms of
sports, competition and the love of money which are elevated to the prime values of life.
Movement Three/Rocketship 20th Century takes off on a
journey into sheer speed and the breakneck acceleration of 21st century life
-- the resulting explosive tempo of technology is war, is civilized violence.
The executive producer of the film is Academy Award-winning director, writer and producer
Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Erin Brockovich, Traffic) and it will
be distributed worldwide by Miramax Pictures.
It was first shown on August 31, 2002 at Telluride
Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado (USA) and it was presented on September 5, 2002 at
Venice Film Festival
in Venice (Italy). It opened in theaters on October 18, 2002 in USA.
The soundtrack by Philip Glass with cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma
conducted by Michael Riesman was relased on Sony Classical
on October 8, 2002 in USA.
Shorts is a new performance programme of new silent short films by distinguished
independent international media makers Peter Greenaway, Atom Egoyan, Shirin Neshat, and Michal
Rovner, who were selected by Philip Glass to write new musical scores to be performed live by
Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble as part of Philip on Film tour.
Peter Greenaway's The Man in the Bath uses advanced digital-editing technology to show the
experiences of a man condemned to endure hot and cold water torture;
Atom Egoyan's Diaspora is an optical manipulation of abstract images;
Shirin Neshat's Passage is an evocative, desert-set journey from birth to death and rebirth;
and Michal Rovner's Notes explores the idea of people as notes on the pages of
life—fragile points of contact between reality and illusion.
The program also includes live concert screenings of Anima Mundi and Evidence
by Godfrey Reggio.
It was premièred on July 26, 2001 by Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble
conducted by Michael Riesman at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln
Center Festival in New York City (USA). The soundtracks to the shorts
The Man in the Bath, Diaspora and Evidence was
released on Nonesuch Records on
October 2, 2001 in USA as part of a limited edition 5 CD box set of Glass's film music
and will be available only during the Philip on Film 2001 / 2002 performance tour
of Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble.
Le Secret (The Secret) is a French film by Virginie Wagon produced by
Diaphana Films
starring Anne Coesens, Michel Bompoil, Tony Todd, Quentin Rossi and Jacqueline Jehanneuf.
It included a short excerpt of the Prologue from The CIVIL warS - Rome Section and
was first shown on November 1, 2000 in France. It was released on DVD on June 20, 2001 in France.
One Day in September is a 95-minute documentary film by Kevin Macdonald narrated
by Michael Douglas about the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics when members of the Israeli
team were kidnapped by terrorists. The soundtrack used Glass's music from Symphony No. 2,
Compassion In Exile, and Façades. It won an 1999 Academy
Award (March 2000) for Best Full Length Documentary.
Condo Painting is an 87-minute documentary film by John McNaughton
(Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) about the the life, work and thought
of New York-based painter George
Condo, an associate of "Beat" writers Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.
The film released by October Films
premièred at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on March 10, 2000.
A soundtrack album was released on Gallery
Six Records on April 18, 2000 in USA and it included a previously unreleased
excerpt of music by Philip Glass originally written for 1992 Mickey Lemle's
documentary Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama.
Dracula is a 1931 film by Tod Browning starring Béla
Lugosi, Helen Chandler & David Manners based on the famous story by Bram
Stoker. Philip Glass has composed a new soundtrack to this classic film scored
for string quartet and performed by Kronos
Quartet. It was commissioned by Universal
Family and Home Entertainment Production for inclusion as part of Universal's
Classic Monsters collection, to be released on video and DVD. The CD was released
on August 31, 1999 in USA. A small promotional tour accompanied this
event screening the film with the soundtrack performed live by Kronos Quartet
assisted by Philip Glass playing piano in some parts conducted by Michael Riesman.
It was premièred on September 4, 1999 at Telluride
Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado (USA).
The Eden Myth
by Mark Edlitz is an USA film produced by Tuesday Night Movies starring Julia Dyon,
Justin Kirk, Zohra Lampert, Mark Pinter, Gil Rogers, Jenna Stern and Todd Weeks.
Philip Glass contributed the score to this familiar drama with excerpts from
Compassion in Exile, Closing, Façades, Phaedra,
Company, In the Summer House, In the Upper Room, TSE,
A Brief History of Time, Harris and Mindwalk. It was shown at the
International
Film Festival Rotterdam 1999 on January 30, 1999.
The Source by Chuck Workman is a 88 minute documentary tracing
the history of the 1950s USA "Beat" movement through its three defining writers:
Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. It includes archival
footage as well as recent interviews and staged performances of his works by
Johnny Deep, John Turturro and Denis Hopper. The documentary was produced by
Calliope Films and it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance
Film Festival 1999 on 23, January 1999. The soundtrack
featured Cabin in the Rockies from Hydrogen
Jukebox by Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass and Metamorphosis Two
from Solo Piano by Philip Glass.
The Truman Show by Peter Weir starring Jim Carrey is a satire
about a man whose life has been written and filmed by hidden cameras
and broadcast in a long-running TV series. Philip Glass appears himself
briefly playing Truman Sleeps. It was released in USA on June
5, 1998. The soundtrack included original music by Philip Glass
and Burkhard Dallwitz as well as other previously released music by Philip
Glass, Frederic Chopin and Wojciech Kilar among others. It was
released on Milan records on June 2,
1998 in USA.
Philip
Glass's score won the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture.
Si Je T'aime, Prends Garde à Toi (Be Ware of My Love)
is a French psychological drama written and directed by Jeanne Labrune
starring Daniel Duval and Nathalie Baye. It was released in France in 1998
and the soundtrack featured Protest from Philip Glass's opera
Satyagraha.
- Cenere (Ash) is an Italian silent film by Febo Mari aka
Alfredo Rodriguez released in 1916. Philip Glass has composed a soundtrack
to the film he had played live along with saxophonist Jon Gibson on December
1, 1997 at Fortissimamente
Italia - Messina Film Festival in Messina, Sicily (Italy).
Kundun by Martin
Scorsese is a film about the early life of the last Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader
of the Tibetans Buddhists
(Philip Glass's religion). The soundtrack was released
on Nonesuch Records in 1997. With this soundtrack Philip Glass won the best
music award of Los Angeles Film Critics Association in 1997 and he was nominated
for a Golden Globe in 1998. The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated him for an Oscar for
the best achievement in music (original dramatic score).
Bent by Sean Mathias is an English independent film released
on November 26, 1997. This drama examines the persecution of homosexuals
under the Third Reich. In the cast of the film appears Mick Jagger, the singer
of the Rolling Stones, singing Glass's song Streets of Berlin
scored for voice and solo piano with lyrics by Martin Sherman. This song was
included in the album Punishing Kiss by singer
Ute Lemper
and released on Decca
on March 27, 2000.
- Absence Stronger than Presence by Benita Raphan is a
seven minute documentary released on August 26, 1996. The soundtrack
featured Dance VIII from In the Upper Room
and Façades from Glassworks by
Philip Glass.
Evidence
by Godfrey Reggio
(Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi
& Anima Mundi) is an eight minute 35 mm film about
the hypnotic effect of television on children - in this case Walt Disney's
"Dumbo". The soundtrack featured a new version of Façades
from Glassworks by Philip Glass. The film was shot
in Rome on March 27, 1996. A live screening of this short film with the soundtrack
performed live by Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble is going to be performed on tour
as part of the Shorts performance of Philip on Film tour.
The soundtrack was released on Nonesuch
Records on October 2, 2001 in USA as part of a limited edition 5 CD box set
of Glass's film music and will be available only during the Philip on Film
performance tour.
Jenipapo (The Interview) by Monique Gardenberg is a Brazilian
film released in 1995. Philip Glass composed the entire soundtrack including
the song Ignorant Sky sang by Suzanne Vega with lyrics by Antonio Cicero.
[]
Other Compositions
Next Compositions
- The Études for solo piano is a set of ongoing piano pieces.
The first book of ten études have already been premièred by Philip Glass
on his solo piano concerts and he is working on the second book. Études Nos. 1 - 3
were composed for conductor Dennis Russell Davies on the occasion of his 50th
birthday in 1994. Étude No. 6 was commissioned by the Sydney Festival (Australia)
and it was premièred by Philip Glass at Sydney Opera House on January 12, 1996.
Études Nos. 7 & 8 were commissioned by the Shambhala Community
in Halifax (Canada) and the Nova Scotia Arts Council (Canada) and they were premièred
by Philip Glass at Scotia
Festival of Music in Halifax (Canada) on May 25, 1999. Each piano piece
approaches the piano in a somewhat different way, producing a highly diverse set of pieces.
Études Nos.1,
2 & 6
can be heard played live on two interviews with Philip Glass aired on November 8, 1995 and
March 11, 1997 on KCRW radio station.
Philip Glass has re-sequenced the pieces and the previous numbers will all change.
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 (Title TBD) is a future 20 minute work
commissioned by pianist Paul Barnes,
Lied Center for the Performing Arts,
and Hixson-Lied College of
Fine and Performing Arts of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It will be inspired on
the Lewis and Clark expedition, a 3-year journey that explored 200 years ago the uncharted
American West to find and map a transcontinental water route to the Pacific Ocean.
It will be premièred by pianist Paul Barnes in September of 2004 at the
Lied Center for the Performing Arts
in Lincoln, Nebraska (USA) as part of the Lewis and Clark
Bicentennial Commemoration.
- Symphony No. 7 is a future project to be composed by Philip Glass for
Pacific Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Carl St. Clair to be premièred in the Fall of 2005.
- Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra is a future project to be composed
by Philip Glass for Kronos Quartet.
Recent Compositions
- Concerto for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra is a new 20 minute work
commissioned for the Northwest Chamber Orchestra
by Charles C. and Diana Carey. It was premièred by Jillon Stoppels Dupree (harpsichord)
with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ralf Gothóni on September 21, 2002 at
Benaroya Hall in Seattle,
Washington (USA). The Concerto, orchestrated for string orchestra, flute, 2 oboes, 2 horns
and bassoon, is in typical concerto form with three movements: a contemplative moderato;
a dreaming, meandering middle movement; and an energetic finale, in a rhythmic 7/8 meter.
It has Eastern influences, combined with subtle references to the baroque.
For more information, visit Mark
Walther's tribute to this work.
The Elephant Man is a new Broadway production of Bernard Pomerance's play
directed by Sean Mathias (Bent) and starring Billy Crudup (John Merrick), Kate Burton
(Pinhead and Mrs. Kendal), and Rupert Graves
(Frederick Treves). It is based on the true life story of John Merrick, a deformed young man
who finds hope for a more dignified life after a youth spent as a freak show attraction.
Philip Glass wrote about 15 minutes of incidental music scored for wind, brass and light
percussion. The score consists of short cues from 20 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes long.
It begun performances on March 26, 2002 and officially opened on April 14, 2002
at Broadways
Royale Theatre in New York City (USA). The production closed on June 2, 2002.
Symphony No. 6 "Plutonian Ode" is a new 45 minute piece for solo voice
and orchestra with text drawn from Allen Ginsberg's Plutonian Ode. It has been
co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall
and Brucknerhaus Linz
celebrating the 65th birthday of Philip Glass to be premièred by
American Composers Orchestra
and soprano Lauren Flanigan conducted by Dennis Russell Davies on February 3, 2002 at
Carnegie Hall in New York City (USA). The subject of the poem is about nuclear pollution
to the natural environment and to the human environment. The poem is in three sections
and describes the half-life of plutonium, then the responsibility of people who live
in this environment, then the special responsibility of artists and creative people who live
in this environment. The three movements of the symphony (What New Element...,
The Bard Surveys Plutonian History, and This Ode to You O Poets) follow
the three parts of the poem, and follow, also, the passage of the poem-the first
movement a passionate outcry against nuclear contamination and pollution, the second
a turn towards healing, and the final movement an epiphany arrived at through personal transformation.
Further performances continued on September 15, 2002 performed by
Bruckner Orchester Linz
and soprano Lauren Flanigan conducted by Dennis Russell Davies at Großer Saal,
Brucknerhaus Linz in Linz (Austria).
Web Logo (for José)
is a 17 seconds piece for brass quintet written in the fall of 2000. It was commisioned by
GlassPages's founder Jordi Petit i Silvestre
in order to be heard by the users of this website for their personal, non comercial use.
The piece is dedicated to GlassPages's web master José
Jiménez Mesa.
Dancissimo is a 10 minute dance piece for orchestra co-commissioned
by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
and the Milwaukee Art Museum to celebrate the
opening of Santiago Calatrava's Quadracci Pavilion of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
It will use an orchestra no larger than three each of flutes, oboes, clarinets
and bassoons (possibly with the usual doublings of piccolo, English horn, E-flat clarinet,
bass clarinet, and contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
three percussionists, harp, keyboard and strings. It was premièed by
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Delfs on November 30, 2001 at
Uihlein Hall, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA).
- Concerto for Cello and Orchestra is a new 32 minute work
commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival
for British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber's
50th birthday to be premièred by Julian Lloyd Webber with China Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Yu Long on October 21, 2001 at Poly Theatre,
Beijing Music Festival in Beijing (China).
Voices is a new 35-minute musical work for pipe organ, two didgeridoos,
clap sticks and narrator written in collaboration with didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins
with text drawn from Aboriginal myths commissioned by the City
of Melbourne to celebrate the refurbishment
of the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ premièred by Mark Atkins
(first didgeridoo), Calvin Bowman (organ), Ron Murray (second didgeridoo and clapsticks) and
Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin (narrator) conducted by Tyrone Landau on May 25, 2001
at Melbourne Town Hall in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). The American première
was performed by Mark Atkins (first didgeridoo), Harry Huff (organ), Ron Murray (second
didgeridoo and clapsticks) and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin (narrator) conducted by
Michael Riesman on July 25, 2001 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln
Center Festival in New York City (USA). The world première performance was
aired on Australian radio station ABC Classic FM on May 26, 2001 and also on New York radio
station WNYC on July 23, 2001 and it
can be heard on-line at the New
Sounds with John Schaefer archive program # 1940.
Orphée Suite for Piano is a transcription by Paul
Barnes for solo piano of seven movements from Glass's 1993 chamber opera Orphée
based on the film of the same name by Jean Cocteau. It was premièred on April 19, 2001
by Paul Barnes at The Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich
House Music School in New York City (USA). Paul Barnes has edited piano arrangements of
Knee Play No. 4 from Einstein on the Beach
(arranged by Philip Glass, revised by Paul Barnes), Act III Conclusion from
Satyagraha (arranged by Michael Riesman, revised by
Paul Barnes) and Dance from Akhnaten (arranged by
Paul Barnes) to form the Trilogy Sonata which was premièred on April 19,
2001 by Paul Barnes at The Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich
House Music School in New York City (USA). The Trilogy Sonata was published
by Chester Music in December 2001.
Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra is a 24 minute
composition for two timpanists, 14 kettledrums, plus a 78-piece orchestra
written for timpanist Jonathan
Haas and commissioned by a consortium of orchestras formed by
American Symphony Orchestra,
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra,
Peabody Symphony Orchestra,
The Phoenix Symphony,
and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
This work is divided into three movements: Fast, Slower, and Very Fast, with a cadenza between
the second and third movements. In the greatest tradition of cadenza-composing, this one comes
with an alternative. The first was composed by Glass and the second written by xylophonist Ian
Finkel. Any timpanists performing the Concerto may choose for themselves which one to perform.
It was premièred on November 19, 2000 by timpanists Jonathan Haas and Svetoslav Stoyanov
with American Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leon Botstein at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln
Center in New York City (USA). A version for chamber orchestra arranged by Michael
Stern, Philip Glass and Jonathan Haas as well as the first performance of the candeza written
by Philip Glass was premièred on March 2, 2002 by timpanists Jonathan Haas and
Michael Karcz with Iris Chamber Orchestra
conducted by Michael Stern at Germantown
Performing Arts Centre in Germantown, Tennessee (USA).
For more information, visit Mark
Walther's tribute to this work.
- Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is a 27 minute work for piano and
string orchestra commissioned by Klangspuren
2000 Festival with support of Tirol Advertisers and written for Dennis Russell Davies and the
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.
It was premièred on September 22, 2000 by Dennis Russell Davies (piano and conductor)
and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra at Klangspuren
Festival in Schwaz, Tirol (Austria). The concert is in three movements and the first one
contains the revision of Maria Hilf an old Tirolean church song, being the first time
Philip Glass used an original theme from folk music. It is going to be released as an limited edition
distributed by the Tirol Tourist Board
in 2003.
Symphony No. 5: Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya
is a ninety minute large scale symphonic composition (800 page score) in twelve movements for
five vocal soloists, great mixed chorus, children's choir and ninety-five piece
orchestra. It was commissioned and conceived as a millennium celebration work
for the Salzburg
Festival in Salzburg (Austria). The work honors the wellbeing of all peoples
as the second millennium becomes the third. The
vocal text compiled and edited by Philip Glass with the Very Reverend James
Parks Morton of the Interfaith
Center of New York and Professor Kusumita Priscilla Pedersen of St. Francis
College represents a broad spectrum of many of the world's great
"wisdom" traditions. It begins before the world's creation, passes
through earthly life and paradise, and closes with a future dedication. It
looks at the moment of the millennium as a bridge between the past (represented
by the "Requiem" and embodying the first nine movements up to the
moment of Death), the present (the "Bardo" representing the
"in-between") and culminating in "Nirmanakaya" (the future
manifestation of enlightened activity). It was premièred by Vienna
Radio Symphony Orchestra (Austria), Chorus Orfeón
Donostiarra of San Sebastián (Spain), Childrens's
Choir of the Hungarian Radio and soloists Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Lorraine
Hunt (mezzo), Michael Schade (tenor), Eric Owens (baritone) and Franz-Josef
Selig (bass) conducted by Dennis Russell Davies on August 28,
1999 in Salzburg (Austria). Performances continued on September
11, 1999 at Flanders
Music Festival in Ghent (Belgium); January 29, 2000 at
Perth International Arts
Festival in Perth (Australia); January 30, 2000 at Bunkamura
Orchard Hall in Tokyo (Japan) and the American Première was on
October 4, 2000 at Brooklyn
Academy of Music in New York City (USA). It was released on
Nonesuch Records on October 3, 2000.
- Psalm 126 is a five minute work for chorus and orchestra.
It consists of the text of Psalm 126 set to music. It was premièred on October
19, 1998 by American
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein at Avery Fisher Hall,
Lincoln Center in New York City (USA).
- Days and Nights in Rocinha is a 23 minute dance for
orchestra for conductor Dennis Russell Davies. The music is inspired by
Rocinha, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) famous for its
"samba school". It was premièred on February 8, 1998 by
the Vienna
Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
The American première was performed on February 7, 1999 by
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
- Songs of Milarepa is a 24 minute work for baritone and chamber orchestra
commissioned by Sagra Musicale
Umbra (Umbra Sacred Music Festival). It is music set to poems by the 11th century Tibetan
saint and poet Milarepa. Through years dedicated to meditation and related practices
in the solitude of the mountains, Milarepa used spontaneous songs to teach his students an
estimated 100,000 spiritual lessons. Philip Glass arranged the texts in the form of
a common Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the "Three Principles of the Path,"
which focus on one's determination to be free and compassionate and attain ultimate wisdom.
It is divided in three movements: I Am the Man Called Milarepa,
Song of the White Staff and Song of the Five Sisters.
It was premièred by baritone Roberto Abbondanza and The Symphonic Orchestra of the Sagra
Musicale Umbra conducted by Marcello Panni on September 13, 1997 at Sagra
Musicale Umbra in Perugia (Italy).
Planctus is a song for voice and solo piano created in
collaboration with pop singer Natalie Merchant (ex vocalist of 10.000 Maniacs).
She wrote the lyrics from a traditional Latin text from the 17th
Century and Philip Glass composed the music for solo piano. The song was composed in February
1997 and premièred in public performance on February 17, 1997 at
Carnegie Hall in New York City (USA). It was
broadcast
on the American TV program Sessions
at West 54th on August 30, 1997 with Natalie Merchant
singing and Philip Glass playing piano. In the same site is available a
video
of the performance.
After Eros is a multi-media performance collaboration with
American choreographer and performance artist Maureen Fleming
and playwright David Henry Hwang who collaborated previously with Philip Glass on
1000 Airplanes on the Roof (1988) and on The Voyage (1992).
With a powerful combination of music, sound, lights, projections, setting and movement,
After Eros is a sacred journey with references to the myth of Psyche and Eros.
In spare, elegant, sculptural transcendence inspired by Butoh, a minimalist movement
developed in postwar Japan, it pushes the boundaries of the body's expressive potential
exploring our never-ending search for what is universal about the journey of the soul,
with accompanying text by David Henry Hwang and music by Philip Glass.
It was commisioned by Pittsburgh Dance Council.
It was premièred on December 21, 1996 in New York City (USA).
- Call to All Nations is a collaboration with percussionists
Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain,
Giovanni Hidalgo and Chalo Eduardo for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games
in Atlanta performed by one hundred percussionists wielding more than a thousand custom-designed
instruments seen and heard by over two billion people on July 19, 1996 in Atlanta (USA).
It was relased on Rykodisk
on April 23, 2002 in USA.
Le Streghe di Venezia (The Witches of Venice), music
for the ballet by Beni Montresor and choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti was
commissioned by Teatro alla Scala.
It was premièred
on December 20, 1995 in Milano (Italy).
- Swatch Melody is a little jingle
melody commissioned by the Swiss manufacturer of design watches Swatch
to be included as the alarm of the watches belonging to the Musicall Series
of the 1995 collection.
The World of Philip Glass is a sampler CD of previous recordings including music from "Heroes" Symphony (Abdulmajid, V2 Schneider), "Low" Symphony (Subterraneans), Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Movement III), Music from The Screens (Land of the Dead, Said's Treason, The Orchard, Night on the Balcony), and Aguas da Amazonia (Amazon River). It was released on Decca (catalog number 470 775-2) on August 26, 2002 in UK.
Songs is a sampler double CD of the previous recordings Songs from Liquid Days and Songs from the Trilogy. It was released on Sony Classical (catalog number SK89745) on January 28, 2002 in Germany.
Seeds of Tibet: Voices of Children in Exile is a 26 minute video documentary produced and directed by Toby Beach and Peter Yost including an interview with the Dalai Lama and music by Philip Glass and Mickey Hart.
Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent by Christopher Hampton. The soundtrack was released on Nonesuch Records in 1996.
