Island" (2 flutes, 2 soprano saxophones, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, 2 horns, viola, violoncello, synthesizer) 7:39 The final movement “Closing” repeats the same themes heard toward the beginning, but here in a softer tone and with closer harmonies, offering up a sort of reverence for what has been played immediately before it. It’s a thematically fitting send-off for Glassworks, so influential would it be for the many to follow in Glass’s footsteps, from popular movie scores from the likes of Hans Zimmer sought to transmute similar emotions across a screen, or the minimalist work of Brian Eno. In their own idiosyncratic sound, these artists each return to the basics that Glass set forward, across all of his work, yes, but particularly and most thesis-like with Glassworks. That was gambit proved successful for Glass is almost incidental to its legacy, but successful it was, bringing him immense popularity and funding for further work that would continue to inspire a generation of artists. An era of minimalism was conceived of and defined by Glassworks, a record that set one of the most enduring standards of recent musical history. Orphée for voices and chamber orchestra (1991, after the film by Jean Cocteau and premiered in 1993) a b Martin, Erin Lyndal (April 30, 2012). "Celebrating The 30th Anniversary Of Glassworks By Philip Glass". The Quietus . Retrieved March 9, 2016. The Perfect American (2011, based on the book about Walt Disney by Peter Stephan Jungk, premiered at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on January 22, 2013)

The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003) (an interview of Robert McNamara, former U.S. Secretary of Defense) Formally it consists of three groups of four measure phrases of three to four chords repeated four times each, ABC: Glass’ enduringly popular score for The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey, won Best Original Score at the Golden Globes in 1999 and appears third in PRS for Music’s Philip Glass’ Most Popular Film Scores chart, while his score for The Hours, the 2002 film starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore, won the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music BAFTA in 2003, and appears at number six.Koyaanisqatsi takes the top spot of the Most Popular Film Scores chart. Intrinsic to the 1982 American experimental non-narrative film produced and directed by Godfrey Reggio, Glass' score is noted as a prime example of the ‘minimalist’ school of composition. The score has become so popular in its own right that the Philip Glass Ensemble, comprising the principal performers of the music of Philip Glass, has toured the world performing the score live for concert hall audiences, in sync with film’s captivating visuals. When your oeuvre is primarily composed of operas, it’s easy to regard a short chamber piece as your most accessible work. This is the mentality that Philip Glass brought to composing Glassworks, his first major success and, to many, his magnum opus. Glass was no stranger to music of any genre, growing up in a family of musicians and eventually studying at Juilliard, but until that point he was fairly limited to theatrical spaces. Spending his days in ’60s Paris with a group of musicians and theater actors was certainly an incredible and influential resource to him at the time, but there’s a ceiling to the success (and income) that come from such an insular artistic community, and Glass wanted to reach more people with his work. As he continued to compose scores and operas across the 1970s, this potential tilt toward something more commercial (relatively speaking) remained at the fore of his mind. There’s no denying that his work was modern, but to get an average audience to listen to a 3-hour historical opera would need more than his particular flourishes to widen his appeal. After the premiere of Satyagraha in 1980, and with pay coming in for his work on Koyaanisqatsi, Glass set out to create a piece that could be “listened to through a Walkman.” The Sound of a Voice for voices and chamber ensemble including a pipa (2003, libretto by David Henry Hwang)

Showcasing the truly diverse nature of Philip Glass’ musical output since the 1960s, the Most Popular Works chart features a concerto (Violin Concerto No 1), a symphony (Symphony No 3) and two string quartets (No 2 and No 3). Entirely versatile in his composing approach and delivery, Philip Glass has composed multiple operas including the acclaimed Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, chamber operas and musical theatre works, symphonies, concertos, string quartets, chamber music, and several film scores. Passages for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra (1989, three movements arranged in 2001 by Dennis Russell Davies) Glass, Philip (1987). Jones, Robert T. (ed.). Music by Philip Glass. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-015823-9. In the Penal Colony for voices and string quintet (2000, libretto after the short story by Franz Kafka)Truman Sleeps’ is one of the most popular pieces of music from the film. As Truman closes his eyes, Glass’s beautiful music plays as the camera pans to the audience watching him sleep on TV. It’s not until the camera pans to the studio that we see Glass himself playing the piano. It’s only then we realise the instrumental music we are hearing is actually the score to the fake television show, rather than the movie.

Glass Pieces for orchestra (1983, orchestral versions of "Funeral" from Akhnaten and Floe and Facades, for Jerome Robbins' ballet) To celebrate the 85th birthday of Philip Glass today (31 January 2022), PRS for Music has released two charts, revealing some of the prolific composer’s most popular works and film scores. Life: A Journey Through Time in seven sections for orchestra (2006, orch. by Michael Riesman, from The Secret Agent, Les Enfants Terribles, Dracula and other works, for the visuals by Frans Lanting) Topping the Most Popular Works chart is the iconic Metamorphosis. Released as part of the Solo Piano album over three decades ago in 1989, the work refers to and was inspired by the 1915 novella The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Flute Concerto for flute and orchestra – transcription from Violin Concerto n. 1 (2017 arr. by James Strauss)

Companies, etc.

The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down, Act V – The Rome Section (1983, with Robert Wilson, libretto by Robert Wilson and Maita di Niscemi, including texts by Seneca the Younger) Circus Days and Nights (2021. Librettists David Henry Hwang and circus director Tilde Björfors based on a collection of poems by American poet Robert Lax. Premiered on Malmö Opera‘s main stage with live music to a live audience [1] and livestreamed worldwide May 29, 2021, thru June 13, 2021.) Waiting for the Barbarians for voices, chorus and orchestra (2005, after the novel by J. M. Coetzee) Six Scenes from Les Enfants Terribles for two pianos (1996, transcribed by Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies) Rubric" is another avalanche of hypnotic melodies where the whole ensemble is firing up on all cylinders. It even outpaces "Floe" with its rushing tempos, but these two compositions are the climaxes of this record. Actually these are prime examples of maximum minimalism, if this term could ever be employed. "Closing" is an orchestrated variant of "Opening" and it's lyrical, exciting and gentle.

Glass loves a trilogy. First the portrait trilogy ( Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha and Akhnaten ) and then the David Bowie trilogy – a series of symphonies based on three Bowie albums known as the Berlin Trilogy . Glass combined instrumental pieces from these albums with his own compositions which resulted in a unique collaboration between pop and orchestral music… Trilogy Sonata for piano (1975/1979/1983, from Einstein, Sathyagraha and Akhnaten, arranged by Paul Barnes in 2001) The Fall of the House of Usher (libretto by Arthur Yorinks after the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, 1987)A Brief History of Time (Errol Morris, 1991) (biopic based on Stephen Hawking's popular physics book) The Photographer for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1982, based on the life of Eadweard Muybridge) Songs from Liquid Days for voices and ensemble (texts by Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, 1985) Les Enfants terribles (1996), Dance Opera for voices and three pianos (1996, after Jean Cocteau's 1929 novel and the 1950 film by Jean-Pierre Melville)