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5[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/philipglass.jpg]]
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7Philip Glass (b. January 31, 1937) is an American composer known for his work in {{minimalis|m}}t music. He first came to prominence with his experimental opera ''Theatre/EinsteinOnTheBeach'', and since then has written prolifically for theater, film, and concert hall alike. He also founded and directs the Philip Glass Ensemble, which has produced acclaimed performances and recordings of much of his music.
8
9His music characteristically features repetitive arpeggios and ostinati that slowly evolve and develop harmonically over time. His work in film scores makes him one of the most recognizable and successful composers working today. For the concert stage, he's written at least 15 operas, 14 symphonies, 9 string quartets, and a long list of works for chamber ensembles, orchestra, and solo instruments.
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11Glass's work, while never popular in the mainstream eye (due to both its avant-garde nature and classical music in general having taken a backseat in the music world for centuries), has been highly influential on actually mainstream artists. In particular, Glass' work was a considerable source of inspiration for Music/DavidBowie, who would inspire Glass in turn to compose works based on Bowie's music, and Music/TalkingHeads, who took cues from his brand of minimalism during their own trysts with abstract, avant-garde-inspired rock, which itself would continue to influence later mainstream artists to this very day. As a result, Glass could be considered one of the most influential obscure artists by pure proxy.
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13Fun fact: Philip Glass is the first cousin once removed of ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife'' host Ira Glass. They've recorded a few conversations for the program, talking about each other's work.
14
15!!Operas by Philip Glass include:
16[[index]]
17* ''Theatre/EinsteinOnTheBeach''
18* ''Theatre/{{Satyagraha}}''
19* ''Theatre/{{Akhnaten}}''
20* ''Theatre/TheVoyage''
21* ''Theatre/WhiteRaven''
22* ''Theatre/{{Galileo Galilei|Opera}}''
23* ''Theatre/WaitingForTheBarbarians''
24* ''Theatre/{{Appomattox}}''
25* ''Theatre/{{Kepler}}''
26* ''Theatre/ThePerfectAmerican''
27* ''Theatre/SpurenDerVerirrten''
28* ''Theatre/CircusDaysAndNights''
29[[/index]]
30----
31!!Other works with music by Philip Glass include:
32* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast1946'': Glass set the text from the movie in an {{opera}}tic version that's meant to be performed in sync with the film.
33* ''Film/{{Candyman}}''
34* ''Film/Dracula1931'': Glass composed a new original score for the film, to be performed by string quartet.
35* ''Film/FantasticFour2015''
36* ''Film/TheFogOfWar''
37* ''Film/HamburgerHill''
38* ''Film/TheHours''
39* ''Film/JiroDreamsOfSushi''
40* ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}'', and the sequels ''Powaqqatsi'' and ''Naqoyqatsi''.
41* ''Film/{{Kundun}}''
42* ''Film/MishimaALifeInFourChapters''
43* ''Film/{{Neverwas}}''
44* ''Series/StrangerThings'' features pieces from Act II of ''Satyagraha'' ("Confrontation") in Season 3, and Act I of ''Ahknaten'' ("The Window of Appearances") in Season 4.
45* ''Series/TalesFromTheLoop''
46* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': The soundtrack features several existing Glass pieces (he also contributed one original piece, "Truman Sleeps"), and the composer has a brief CreatorCameo as an audio engineer.
47* ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'': A track from ''Film/{{Koyaanisqatsi}}'' is put to good effect in Dr. Manhattan's transformation scene.
48----
49!!Tropes:
50* BrokenRecord: Glass's music is often described as repetitive, part of the influence of minimalist style.
51* {{Minimalism}}: Glass's works in the 1960s and 1970s are considered to be among the most important contributions to the musical genre, but he [[InsistentTerminology resists the label]] as applying to his later works.
52* SesameStreetCred: Glass composed a short set of pieces called "The Geometry of Circles" especially for ''Series/SesameStreet.''
53* ShoutOut: Three of Glass's symphonies are inspired by Music/DavidBowie's "Berlin Trilogy", a triptych of musically and lyrically abstract art rock albums released between 1977 and 1979. Each symphony is based on musical and/or lyrical motifs from each of the three albums in the trilogy:
54** Glass's 1st Symphony (1992) is based off of ''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'', featuring movements titled after the instrumental tracks "Subterraneans", "Some Are"[[note]]an outtake from the 1976 ''Low'' sessions included as a bonus track on the 1991 Rykodisc CD re-release of the Bowie album[[/note]], and "Warszawa".
55** Glass's 4th Symphony (1996) is based off of ''[[Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum "Heroes"]]'', featuring movements titled after the tracks ""Heroes"", "Abdulmajid"[[note]]again, an outtake included as a bonus track on the Bowie album's Rykodisc CD release[[/note]], "Sense of Doubt", "Sons of the Silent Age", "Neuköln", and "V2 Schneider".
56** Glass's 12th Symphony (2018) is based off of ''Music/{{Lodger}}''.
57* SincerestFormOfFlattery: {{Averted|Trope}}. Glass explained that he rejected the style of earlier AvantGardeMusic composers such as Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen because he thought it was so good that there was no point in trying to do the same style better.
58* WaitingForABreak: Glass worked odd jobs as a cab driver and plumber in New York even while he was beginning to be successful as a composer. This led to a memorable encounter when he wound up installing a dishwasher in a loft that turned out to belong to a gobsmacked Robert Hughes, art critic for ''Time'' magazine. On another occasion, a passenger in his cab remarked, "Young man, did you know you have the same name as a very famous composer?"

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