by Sam Juliano
Philip Glass is widely regarded as the most influential composer of the late part of the 20th century, yet his reputation was anything but secure during his maiden period, where many continued to liken his style to overt minimalism. Glass himself has since distanced himself from such a constrictive, even unflattering appraisal, choosing instead to define many of his main lines as following patterns of ‘repetitive structure.’ While some listeners have tuned out to the composers pulsating redundancy, others have found the music oddly infectious, building in Ravelian intensity, to soul-stirring climaxes. Rock bands, film composers and his stylistist compatriot John Adams have all testified to Glass’ considerable influence on their own work.
Glass has written for a wide variety of forms, including instrumental and opera, and has penned some celebrated film scores, three of which received academy award nominations. But it was his modernist operas that have, perhaps, left their most lasting mark on the musical landscape. With Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, Glass completed in the early 80’s what he described as his “portrait” operas, which are works that portray men whose personal vision transformed the thinking of their times through the power of ideas rather than by “military force.” The music in these opera blends mathematical clarity with a kind of mysterious beauty, that some have seen as mystical. The music showcases a circular process that evolves into a repeating cycle that continuously delays resolution. The process employs both additive and subtractive formulas. The result, like most of Glass’ music before and since is slow to engage, but it builds to almost spiritual intensity. (more…)
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