Philip Glass Biography (1937-)

Born January 31, 1937, in Baltimore, MD; son of Benjamin Charles (a record store owner) and Ida (maiden name, Gouline) Glass; married Jo Anne Akalaitis (an actress and director), July 15, 1965 (divorced, 1980); married Luba Burtyk(an internist), October 1980 (divorced); married Candy Jernigan (died, 1991);married Holly Critchlow, 2001; children: (first marriage) Zachary, Juliet; (fourth marriage) Cameron. Addresses: Manager: Kraft-Engel Management,15233 Ventura Blvd., Suite 200, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Composer, musician, director, screenwriter
Birth Details: January 31, 1937; Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Stage Work
Director, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Vienna International Airport, Vienna, Austria, 1987
Stage Appearances
Grace for Grace, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City,1991
Film Work
Music supervisor and transcriptionist, Chappaqua, Regional, 1967
Music director, Koyaanisqatsi, New Yorker, 1982
Dramaturgical consultant, Powaqqatsi (also known as Powaqqatsi:Life in Transformation), Cannon, 1988
Director, Anima Mundi (documentary short film; also known as The Soul of the World), 1991
Creative musical supervisor and musical supervisor, Closet Land, Universal, 1991
Song arranger, Exposure, 1991
Film Appearances
Four American Composers, Trans Atlantic Films, 1983
Narrator, A Composer's Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera (also known as A Composer's Notes), Michael Blackwell Productions,1985
The Kitchen Presents Two Moon July (also known as Two Moon July), 1986
Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars (documentary), Unisphere, 1987
Music performer, Christo in Paris (documentary), 1990
John Cage: Man and Myth, 1990
Himself, The Nova Convention Revisited (also known as The NovaConvention Revisited: William S. Burroughs and the Arts), 1998
Keyboard artist, The Truman Show, Paramount, 1998
A Brief History of Errol Morris (documentary), 2000
Armonie dell'Estasi (documentary), 2000
Himself, Jonas at the Ocean, 2001
Himself, Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress (documentary short film),MGM/UA Home Entertainment, 2002
Television Appearances
Miniseries
Himself, Music with Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television by Robert Ashley, 1974
Specials
Himself, "Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera," Great Performances, PBS, 1986
Timeless Voices: The Gyuto Monks, The Discovery Channel, 1989
Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul (also known as American Masters: Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul), PBS, 1995
Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress, PBS, 1998
Interviewee, Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, PBS, 1998
Himself, The Nova Convention Revisited (also known as The NovaConvention Revisited: William S. Burroughs and the Arts), 1998
Lincoln Center Festival 2001, PBS, 2001
Episodic
Musical guest, Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1986
Late Night with David Letterman, 1986
Himself, Sessions at West 54th, PBS, 1997
RECORDINGS
Albums; with Philip Glass Ensemble
The Photographer: For Violin, Chorus, and Instruments, CBS Masterworks, 1982
Glassworks, CBS Masterworks, 1982
Koyaanisqatsi, Antilles, 1983
Einstein on the Beach, CBS Masterworks, 1985
Songs from Liquid Days, CBS Masterworks, 1987
Akhnaten, CBS Masterworks, 1988
Dancepieces, CBS Masterworks, 1988
Mad Rush; Metamorphosis; Wichita Sutra Vortex, CBS Masterworks, 1989
Music in Twelve Parts, Virgin, 1990
Symphony No. 2, Saxophone Quartet Concerto, Atlantic, 1998
Also recorded North Star, Virgin International; Satyagraha,CBS.
Albums
Strung Out: For Amplified Violin, Xenakis, 1968
Einstein on the Beach, CBS, 1979
Modern Love Waltz: For Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Electric Piano, CRI, 1980
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (original soundtrack), Nonesuch,1985
Satyagraha, CBS, 1985
North Star, Virgin, 1986
Solo Piano, CBS, 1989
The Thin Blue Line, 1989
1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Virgin, 1989
The Essential Philip Glass, 1993
Low, 1993
La Belle et la Bete, 1995
(Joseph Conrad's) The Secret Agent (original soundtrack), 1996
Kundun: Music from the Original Soundtrack, 1997
Glassmaster, Sony Classics, 1997
Philip on Film, 2001
Other albums include Company: For String Quartet, Nonesuch; Facades: For Flute and Strings, Angel; and Music for Violin Solo (from Einstein on the Beach), New World.
WRITINGS
Stage Scores
Music for Voices, Mabou Mines Theatre, 1970
Mabou Mines Performs Samuel Becket, Theatre for the New City, NewYork City, 1975
Einstein on the Beach (opera), Avignon, France, and other Europeanvenues, then the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, all 1976
Dressed Like an Egg, Mabou Mines, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, New York City, 1977
Dead End Kids, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, 1980
Satyagraha (opera), commissioned by the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1980
The Photographer (opera), 1982
(With Robert Wilson and Maita di Niscemi) the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is down, 1982
Samuel Beckett's Company, Mabou Mines, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, 1983
Cold Harbor, Mabou Mines, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, 1983
Glass Pieces (ballet from Glassworks and Akhnaten),New York City Ballet, New York State Theatre, New York City, 1983
Opening and closing music, Suzanna Andler, South Street Theatre, New York City, 1984
Incidental music, Endgame, American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge,MA, 1984
Akhnaten (opera), commissioned by the Wurttemberg State Theatre, state of Wurttemberg, West Germany (now Germany), 1984
(With Robert Moran and Arthur Yorinks) The Juniper Tree, AmericanRepertory Theatre, 1985
"A Madrigal Opera," An Evening of Micro-Operas, Mark Taper Forum,Los Angeles, 1985
(With Matthew Maguire and Molissa Fenley) Descent into the Maelstrom (theatre and dance piece; based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of thesame name), commissioned by the Australian Dance Theatre, 1985
(With Doris Lessing) The Making of the Representative for Planet 8(three-act opera), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Houston, TX, Kiel, West Germany (now Germany), and London, 1985-1986

1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Vienna International Airport, Vienna,Austria, 1987, then Beacon Theatre, New York City, 1988
The Fall of the House of Usher (two-act opera; based on the EdgarAllan Poe novel of the same name), commissioned by the Kentucky Opera and theAmerican Repertory Theatre, 1988
Cymbeline, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public/Newman Theatre, New York City, 1989
Henry IV, Part I, Public/Newman Theatre, 1991
The Voyage, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera House, 1992
The Mysteries and What's So Funny?, Joyce Theatre, New York City,1992-1993
Orphee, American Repertory Theatre, 1992-1993
Woyzeck, Public/Newman Theatre, 1992-1993
In the Summer House, Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1993
La belle et la bete, Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, 1994
Prisoner of Love, New York Theatre Workshop, New York City, 1995
The Marriages between Zones Three, Four, and Five (opera; based onthe work of Doris Lessing), Heidelberg, Germany, 1997
Monsters of Grace (opera), Barbican Theatre, New York City, 1998
In the Penal Colony, Court Theater, Chicago, IL, 2000, then Classic Stage Company, 2001
White Raven, New York State Theatre, New York City, 2001
Galileo Galilei, Goodman Theater, Chicago, IL, 2002
The Elephant Man, Royale Theatre, New York City, 2002
The Sound of a Voice, Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, MA, 2003
Composed music for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre and for the choreographer Lar Lubovitch.
Film Scores
Mark Di Suvero, Sculptor (also known as North Star: Mark di Suvero), Parrot Productions, 1977
(Uncredited) Suspiria (also known as Dario Argento's Suspiria and Suspiria--In den Krallen des Bosen), 1977
Koyaanisqatsi (also known as Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance), New Yorker, 1982
Breathless, Orion, 1983
Four American Composers, Trans Atlantic Films, 1983
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (also known as Mishima), Warner Bros., 1984
High Wire, 1984
A Composer's Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera (Akhnaten), Michael Blackwell Productions, 1985
Dead End Kids (also known as Dead End Kids: A Story of NuclearPower), Ikon-Mabou Mines, 1986
Dialogue (also known as Dialog), 1986
The Kitchen Presents Two Moon July (also known as Two Moon July), 1986
Hamburger Hill, Paramount, 1987
Powaqqatsi (also known as Powwaqatsi: Life in Transformation), Cannon, 1988
The Thin Blue Line (documentary), J. G. Films, 1988
La chiesa (also known as Cathedral of Demons, The Church, Demon Cathedral, Demons 3, and In the Land of the Demons), Cecchi Gori, 1988
Christo in Paris (documentary), 1990
Anima Mundi (documentary short film; also known as The Soul ofthe World), 1991
Mindwalk, 1991
Merci, la vie (also known as Thank You, Life and Thanksfor Life), Orly Films/Cine Valse, 1991
Closet Land, 1991
Candyman (also known as Clive Barker's Candyman), TriStar,1992
A Brief History of Time (documentary), Channel 4 Films, 1992
Compassion in Exile: The Life of the 14th Dalai Lama (documentary), 1992
Planetens spejle (also known as Mirror of the Planet), 1992
Niki de Saint Phalle: Wer ist das Monster-du oder ich? (documentary; also known as Figuren der Freude, Niki de Saint Phalle: Who Is the Monster, You or Me?, and Niki de Saint Phalle), 1994
Jenipapo (also known as The Interview), Boku Films/Ravina Films, 1994
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (also known as Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh), Gramercy, 1995
(Uncredited; new version) La belle et la bete (also known as Beauty and the Beast), originally released in 1946, new release, 1995
Evidence, 1995
The Secret Agent (also known as Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1996
Ballad of the Skeletons (short film), 1996
Absence Stronger than Presence (documentary short film), 1996
Perfect Moment (documentary), 1996
Depart immediat, 1996
Bent, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1997
Kundun, Buena Vista, 1997
Si je t'aime ... prends garde a toi, Rezo Films, 1998
Noyaqqatsi (documentary), 1999
The Source (documentary), Calliope Films, 1999
The Eden Myth, Tuesday Night Movies, 1999
(New score) Dracula, 1913, new release, 1999
Sin ceder (documentary short film), 1999
Armonie dell'Estasi (documentary short film), 2000
The Man in the Bath, 2001
Diaspora (short film), 2001
(Uncredited) The Confession (short film), 2001
Passage (short film), 2002
Naqoyqatsi, Miramax, 2002
The Baronnes and the Pig, 2002
C'est le bouquet! (also known as Special Delivery), 2002
The Hours, Paramount, 2002
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara(documentary; also known as The Fog of War), Sony Pictures Classics,2003
Secret Window, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2004
Taking Lives, Warner Bros., 2004
Undertow, United Artists, 2004
Partition, 2004
Also composed a new score for Cenere (also known as Ashes),Ambrosio Film.
Film Additional Music
The Truman Show, Paramount, 1998
Film Songs
La chiesa (also known as Cathedral of Demons, The Church, Demon Cathedral, Demons 3, and In the Land of the Demons), Cecchi Gori, 1988
Exposure, 1991
Screenplays
Noyaqqatsi (documentary), 1999
Television Scores
Series
The Arctic, 1992
Miniseries
Music with Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television by Robert Ashley, 1974
Specials
Satyagraha, 1983
High Wire, PBS, 1985
"Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera," Great Performances, PBS, 1986
"The Thin Blue Line," American Playhouse, PBS, 1988
Timeless Voices: The Gyuto Monks, The Discovery Channel, 1989
Peter Jennings Reporting: Guns, ABC, 1990
A Walk through Prospero's Library, 1991
Twyla Tharp: Oppositions, PBS, 1996
Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress, PBS, 1998
Legacy of a Kidnapping: Lindbergh and the Triumph of the Tabloids,PBS, 2001
Pandemic: Facing AIDS, HBO, 2003
Television Songs
Specials
"The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul, PBS, 1995
Television Scores
Episodic
"ConFusion in a Jar," Nova, PBS, 1990
Musical Pieces
String Quartet, 1966
Music in the Shape of a Square (for two flutes), 1967
In Again Out Again (for two pianos), 1967
One Plus One (for amplified tabletop), 1967
The Olympian (for chorus and orchestra; used at the opening of the1984 Olympics), Los Angeles, 1984
(With Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Paul Simon, and Suzanne Vega) Songs from Liquid Days, 1985
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 1987
Canyon (for orchestra), 1988
Hydrogen Jukebox (based on the poetry of Allen Ginsberg), 1990
Heroes Symphony (based on the David Bowie album Heroes), c.1997
White Raven (O Corvo Bianco), 1998
Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, 2000
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, 2001
Voices for Organ, Didgeridoo and Narrator, 2001
Symphony No. 6 Plutonain Ode, 2002
Also composed music for the 1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta, GA.
Musical Pieces for the Philip Glass Ensemble
Music in Contrary Motion, 1969
Music in Fifths, 1969
Music in Similar Motion, 1969
Music in Eight Parts, 1969
Music with Changing Parts, 1970
Music in Twelve Parts, 1971-1974
(With Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt) Dance (multimedia piece), 1979
Nonfiction
Music by Philip Glass, edited and supplemented by Robert T. Jones,Harper and Row, 1987

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Schirmer, 2001
Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale Research, 1998
Mertens, W., American Minimal Music: LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, SteveReich, Philip Glass, Broude, 1983
Music by Philip Glass, Da Capo Press, 1995
Newsmakers, Gale, 1991

Periodicals

American Theatre, October, 2003, p. 103
Billboard, July 10, 1999, p. 43; July 21, 2001, p. 13; December 7,2002, p. 14
The Economist, August 18, 2001
Insight on the News, December 17, 2001, p. 33
Interview, December, 1994, p. 66
New Republic, April 10, 2000, p. 29
New Statesman, February 14, 1997, p. 40; May 29, 1998, pp. 45-46
Sarasota Magazine, December, 1995, pp. 56-58
Smithsonian, November, 2003, p. 100

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