FESTIVAL FEATURES | Philip Glass
TEN THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT . . . PHILIP GLASS
Before he performs a Ginsberg tribute with Patti Smith, and scores a black and white fi lm of La Belle et La Bête in the International Festival, we remind ourselves of the many reasons why we love US composer Philip Glass. Just, please, don’t call him a minimalist
Words: Matt Evans
1. He was a gifted child Glass took up the violin at the age of six. At just 14 he was accepted into the University of Chicago, where he studied mathematics and philosophy – subjects that would remain at the core of his work throughout his career.
2. He’s surprisingly handy A former wrestler, Glass could certainly look after himself. In 1970, when the Philip Glass Ensemble performed in Amsterdam, an enthusiastic fan (or perhaps a sarcastic situationist invaded the stage and tried to join in. Glass’s response? ‘I punched him, of which I’m not proud.’ Not only that, he kept playing with his non-punching hand. critic)
3. . . . but as a Buddhist, he’s unlikely to attack you Glass became a student of Tibetan Buddhism in 1966. In the same year, he travelled thousands of miles to study with Swami Satchidananda in Sri Lanka. Upon arrival, he found a note from the guru inviting Glass to his newly opened ashram in New York. Presumably this was a valuable lesson in patience and humility.
8. He’s no minimalist Along with Reich, Riley and Young, Glass is rightly considered one of the founders of minimalism. However, for most of his career – indeed, almost the last forty years – he has described himself as a classicist, and his music is more the romanticism of Schubert and Bach than by the pared-back severity of his 1960s and early 70s experiments. This rarely stops the M-word being used as lazy shorthand. informed by
9. . . . in fact, he’s written more operas than Wagner Glass’s numerous operatic epic, adventures include impressionistic and surreal semi-b semi-biographical works about Einstein, Columbus, Gandhi, Akhenaten and the Manson Family (featuring non- traditional tenor of one Iggy Pop), as well as a adaptations of the work o of Edgar Allan Poe and A Allen Ginsberg and a sci- i i tale by Doris Lessing (T (The Making the Re Representative for Planet 8). 8). the
of
4. He wrote music for Sesame Street In 1979, Glass provided a creepy and spectral accompaniment to a short geometric animation for Jim Henson’s timeless, educational and occasionally psychedelic TV show. (It’s on YouTube if you want a watch.) 5. . . . and Swatch In the 1990s, Glass was commissioned to write a melody for the Swatch MusiCall wristwatch. At just four seconds long, this is by some distance his shortest-ever composition.
6. . . . and advertised whisky A 1982 magazine ad (pictured above) features a painted and fairly louche-looking Glass gripping a handful of musical notes while a disembodied hand offers him a tumbler of Scotch on the
20 THE LIST FESTIVAL 8–15 Aug 2013
rocks. ‘Success hasn’t made Glass any less of a maverick,’ reads the drunken blurb. ‘But for all the traditions he breaks, there’s one he respects. At the end of the day, he enjoys a Cutty Sark.’
7. He’s a Phil of all trades Even celebrated contemporary composers have to pay the rent. During much of the 70s, Glass still worked day jobs, including being a cab driver and plumber. One day, Glass was installing a dishwasher in a SoHo loft: ‘I suddenly heard a noise and looked up to i nd Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, staring at me in disbelief. “But you’re Philip Glass! What are you doing here?” It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be i nished.’
10. . . . and even 10. rec recorded a pop album. Sort Sort of. Glass moved away Glas concert halls from and opera houses for the oddly fascinating 1986 curio Songs for Liquid Days, which features lyrics by Suzanne Vega, Paul Simon, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson. Originally proposed by CBS in order to fund one of Glass’s operas, the album’s six tracks were just too otherworldly – not to mention too long – for the pop charts. (Matt Evans)
La Belle et la Bête, Playhouse, 524 3333, 10 & 11 Aug, 8pm, £12–£35; Conversations: Philip Glass and Patti Smith, The Hub, 473 2015, 13 Aug, noon, £6; The Poet Speaks, Playhouse, 524 3333, 13 Aug, 8.30pm, £12–£35.