Search results for ""author philip glass""

Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-twentieth-century classical music. Yet in Words Without Music, his critically acclaimed memoir, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. From his childhood in Baltimore to his student days in Chicago and at Juilliard, to his first journey to Paris and a life-changing trip to India, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his creative consciousness. Whether describing working as an unlicensed plumber in gritty 1970s New York or composing Satyagraha, Glass breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. Words Without Music ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.

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The long-awaited memoir by 'the most prolific and popular of all contemporary composers' (New York Times)Rapturous in its ability to depict the creative process, Words Without Music allows readers to experience that sublime moment of creative fusion when life merges with art. Biography lovers will be inspired by the story of a precocious Baltimore boy, the son of a music-shop owner, who entered college at age fifteen, before traveling to Paris to study under the legendary Nadia Boulanger; Glass devotees will be fascinated by the stories behind Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha, among so many other works. Whether recalling his experiences working at Bethlehem Steel, traveling in India, driving a cab in 1970s New York, or his professional collaborations with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, Robert Wilson, Doris Lessing, and Martin Scorsese, Words Without Music affirms the power of music to change the world.Martin Scorsese on Words Without Music:'I came to Philip Glass's music very simply, without any critical prodding or guidance. I listened and I was transfixed. The music was dynamic and colorful and mysterious all at once, and it put me in mind of the Zen exercise of sitting before a blank wall and contemplating the question, "What is this?" It's music that seems to go beyond music. It doesn't just stay with you, it infuses and energizes and haunts you, and carries a sense of being alive, a perception of existence itself, the rhythm of living this life. Philip's music has come to mean more and more to me as the years have gone by.I was excited to work with Philip on Kundun, and he exceeded my wildest expectations by giving us a score that was genuinely transcendent. He's exceeded my expectations again with this rich and beautifully written memoir. Who knew that he was as good a writer as he is a composer?'

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A world-renowned composer of symphonies, operas, and film scores, Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late-twentieth-century classical music. Yet here in Words Without Music, he creates an entirely new and unexpected voice, that of a born storyteller and an acutely insightful chronicler, whose behind-the-scenes recollections allow readers to experience those moments of creative fusion when life so magically merged with art. "If you go to New York City to study music, you'll end up like your uncle Henry," Glass's mother warned her incautious and curious nineteen-year-old son. It was the early summer of 1956, and Ida Glass was concerned that her precocious Philip, already a graduate of the University of Chicago, would end up an itinerant musician, playing in vaudeville houses and dance halls all over the country, just like his cigar-smoking, bantamweight uncle. One could hardly blame Mrs. Glass for worrying that her teenage son would end up as a musical vagabond after initially failing to get into Juilliard. Yet, the transformation of a young man from budding musical prodigy to world-renowned composer is the story of this commanding memoir. From his childhood in post–World War II Baltimore to his student days in Chicago, at Juilliard, and his first journey to Paris, where he studied under the formidable Nadia Boulanger, Glass movingly recalls his early mentors, while reconstructing the places that helped shape his artistic consciousness. From a life-changing trip to India, where he met with gurus and first learned of Gandhi’s Salt March, to the gritty streets of New York in the 1970s, where the composer returned, working day jobs as a furniture mover, cabbie, and an unlicensed plumber, Glass leads the life of a Parisian bohemian artist, only now transported to late-twentieth-century America. Yet even after Glass’s talent was first widely recognized with the sensational premiere of Einstein on the Beach in 1976, even after he stopped renewing his hack license and gained international recognition for operatic works like Satyagraha, Orphée, and Akhnaten, the son of a Baltimore record store owner never abandoned his earliest universal ideals throughout his memorable collaborations with Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, Robert Wilson, Doris Lessing, Martin Scorsese, and many others, all of the highest artistic order. Few major composers are celebrated as writers, but Philip Glass, in this loving and slyly humorous autobiography, breaks across genres and re-creates, here in words, the thrill that results from artistic creation. Words Without Music ultimately affirms the power of music to change the world.

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THE TWENTY ETUDES FOR PIANO were composed during the years from 1991 to 2012. Their final configuration into Book 1 and Book 2 was determined by the music itself in the course of its composition.Book 1 (Etudes 1-10) had a twin objective - to explore a variety of tempi, textures and piano techniques. At the same time it was meant to serve as a pedagogical tool by which I would improve my piano playing. In these two ways, Book 1 succeeded very well. I learned a great deal about the piano and in the course of learning the music, I became a better player. New projects came along and interrupted the work on the Etudes for several years. Perhaps for that reason, when I took up work with the Etudes again I found the music was following a new path. Though I had settled questions of piano technique for myself in Book 1, the music in Book 2 quickly began to suggest a series of new adventures in harmony and structure. In this way, Books 1 and 2, taken together, sugge

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A Monumental Gift for Music Lovers: A Deluxe Boxed Set of Philip Glass's Most Beloved and Personal Body of Work, Along with a Book of Appreciations from Notable Fellow Artists Philip Glass is one of the most influential artists of our time. In his long and staggeringly creative career as a composer, he's reached millions of people and transformed how we listen to music. He's written 26 operas, 12 symphonies, 13 concertos, and 35 film scores. But his most beloved, personal, and listened-to work is a series of 20 piano etudes. Originally created to "address the deficiencies in my own playing," in Glass's words, they've taken on a life of their own as a modern masterpiece-majestic and intimate at the same time, these compositions for solo piano have been performed and recorded by dozens of artists and streamed over 100 million times. Philip Glass Piano Etudes is in every way a one-of-a-kind tribute to this singular work. A deluxe boxed gift set, it includes the complete etudes, 1 through 20, plus a hardcover book: Studies in Time: Essays on the Music of Philip Glass. Each etude has been newly engraved (the technical term used for drawing music notation at the highest quality), and each is printed on oversize heavy stock and sewn-bound into individual folios. In Studies in Time, artists and writers including Laurie Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Maira Kalman, Pico Iyer, Alice Waters, Tim Page, Ari Shapiro, and others reflect on the music, the art of composition, the meaning of practice, and so much more. In its heirloom box, this deluxe edition of the etudes is to be cherished by music lovers, piano students and players, and anyone attuned to contemporary culture, savoured for its beauty and insights, and, of course, explored at the keyboard.

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