Philip Glass
Repetitive opera composer
Philip Glass is an American composer known for his minimalist style, characterized by repetitive structures, arpeggiated figures, and gradual harmonic shifts.
His work spans operas (*Einstein on the Beach*), film scores (*Koyaanisqatsi*, *The Hours*), and symphonies.
Glass's accessible approach helped bring contemporary classical music to mainstream audiences beginning in the 1970s.
One favoring bare essentials
- repetitionAct of redoing
- arpeggiosChord notes played individually
- cyclesRecurring sequences of events
- additiveSubstance mixed in
phasing · ostinato · patterns · ensemble · keyboard · symphony · orchestra · chamber
Aesthetic of reduction
- repetitionAct of redoing
- arpeggiosChord notes played individually
- patternsRecurring arrangements or designs
- phasingImplementing by stages
ostinato · cycles · additive · structure · motifs · pulses · texture · rhythmic
Canonical prayer times
- DraculaLegendary Transylvanian vampire
- documentaryFactual film about reality
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- synthesizerElectronic sound-generating instrument
Three linked creative works
- librettoOpera's written words
- sopranoHighest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
aria · recitative · overture · act · scene · chorus · staging · Metropolitan Opera
Legendary Indian sitar player
- Indian musicMelodic traditions from subcontinent
- tablaIndian paired hand drums
- gamelanIndonesian percussive ensemble
- Tibetan BuddhismHimalayan tantric spiritual tradition
minimalist
One favoring bare essentials
- repetitionAct of redoing
- arpeggiosChord notes played individually
- cyclesRecurring sequences of events
additive · phasing · ostinato · patterns · ensemble · keyboard · symphony · orchestra · chamber · score
minimalism
Aesthetic of reduction
- repetitionAct of redoing
- arpeggiosChord notes played individually
- patternsRecurring arrangements or designs
phasing · ostinato · cycles · additive · structure · motifs · pulses · texture · rhythmic · looping
The Hours
Canonical prayer times
- DraculaLegendary Transylvanian vampire
- documentaryFactual film about reality
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
trilogy
Three linked creative works
baritone · aria · recitative · overture · act · scene · chorus · staging · Metropolitan Opera · Gandhi
Ravi Shankar
Legendary Indian sitar player
- Indian musicMelodic traditions from subcontinent
- tablaIndian paired hand drums
- gamelanIndonesian percussive ensemble
Tibetan Buddhism · Eastern philosophy · John Cage · Samuel Beckett
- Jewish MusiciansLeonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Barbra Streisand, Benny Goodman
- MarylandersNancy Pelosi, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, Babe Ruth
- Experimental Musicnoise music, experimental music, avant-garde music, sound art, electroacoustic
- New Musicnew music, world premieres, John Cage, John Adams, serialism
- ComposersBach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Haydn
- minimalismminimalism, declutter, decluttering, simplicity, less is more
Philip GlassRichard Wagner
Philip GlassRichard Wagner
Giacomo Puccini · Giuseppe Verdi · emotional catharsis · Tchaikovsky · John Williams