List of compositions by Philip Glass

The following is a list of compositions by Philip Glass. For a description of these works, please see the associated pages and the Philip Glass page.

Works for the Philip Glass Ensemble

600 Lines (1967)
How Now for ensemble or piano (1968)
Music in Fifths (1969)
Music in Similar Motion (1969)
Music in Contrary Motion (1969)
Music with Changing Parts (1970, recorded 1973)
Music in Twelve Parts (1971–1974)
Another Look at Harmony, Parts I and II (1975)
North Star (1977)
Dance (1979, with Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt)
Glassworks (1982)
A Descent Into the Maelstrom (based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, 1986)
Orion (2004)
Los Paisajes del Rio (2008)

Operas

Einstein on the Beach for the Philip Glass Ensemble (1975-1976, with Robert Wilson)
Satyagraha (1978-1979, premiered in 1980, libretto by Constance de Jong)
Akhnaten (1983)
the CIVIL warS, Rome Section (1984, with Robert Wilson, libretto includes texts by Seneca the Younger)
The making of the representative for Planet 8 (1985-1986, premiered in 1988, libretto by Doris Lessing, after her fourth novel from Canopus in Argos)
The Voyage (1990, premiered in 1992, libretto by David Henry Hwang)
White Raven (1991, premiered as O Corvo Branco in 1998, with Robert Wilson, libretto by Luísa Costa Gomes)
The marriages between zones three, four, and five (1997, libretto by Doris Lessing, after her second novel from Canopus in Argos)
Galileo Galilei (2002, libretto by Mary Zimmerman and Arnold Weinstein)
Waiting for the Barbarians for voices, chorus and orchestra (2005, after the novel by J. M. Coetzee)
Appomattox (premiered at San Francisco Opera on October 5, 2007)

Chamber operas, music theatre

A Madrigal Opera for voices, violin and viola (1980)
The Photographer for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1982), based on the life of Eadweard Muybridge)
The Juniper Tree (1985, with Robert Moran)
The Fall of the House of Usher (libretto after the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, 1987)
1000 Airplanes on the Roof for voice and ensemble (text by David Henry Hwang, 1988)
Hydrogen Jukebox for voices and ensemble (libretto by Allen Ginsberg, 1990)
Orphée for voices and chamber orchestra (1991, after the film by Jean Cocteau and premiered in 1993)
La Belle et la Bête for voices and the Philip Glass Ensemble or chamber orchestra (1994, after the film by Jean Cocteau)
Les Enfants Terribles, Dance Opera for voices and three pianos (1996, after Cocteau's novel and the film by Jean-Pierre Melville)
The Witches of Venice, children's opera-ballet (1997)
Monsters of Grace, chamber opera for the Philip Glass Ensemble (1998, with 3D digital footage directed by Robert Wilson, libretto from works of Jalaluddin Rumi)
In the Penal Colony for voices and string quintet (2000, libretto after the short story by Franz Kafka)
The Sound of a Voice for voices and chamber ensemble including pipa (2003, libretto by David Henry Hwang)

Works for solo piano

How Now for piano (1968)
Two Pages (for Steve Reich) for piano (or electric organ, 1969)
Modern Love Waltz for piano (piano version of Fourth Series Part Three, 1977)
Mad Rush for piano (originally titled Fourth Series Part Four, 1979)
The Olympian for piano (1984)
Cadenza for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (K. 467, 1786) (1987)
Metamorphosis for piano (1988)
The French Lieutenant Sleeps from The Screens for piano (1989)
Night on the Balcony from The Screens for piano (or harpsichord, 1989)
Tesra for piano (1993)
12 Pieces for Ballet for piano (1993)
Etudes for piano, Volume 1 (1994-1995)
The Joyful Moment for piano (1998)
Dreaming Awake for piano (2003, written & recorded by Glass as a benefit for Jewel Heart.)
A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, two movements for piano (2005)

Works for solo piano, arranged by others from various sources

Trilogy Sonata for piano (1975/1979/1983, from Einstein, Sathyagraha and Akhnaten, arranged by Paul Barnes in 2001)
Closing from "Mishima" for piano (1984, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
Anima Mundi for piano (1991, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
Selections from "A Brief History of Time" for piano (1991, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
The Orphée Suite for piano (1991, transcribed by Paul Barnes in 2000)
Overture from La Belle et la Bete for piano (1994, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
Epilogue from Monsters of Grace for piano (1998, transcribed by Paul Barnes in 2001)
Dracula for piano (1998, transcribed by Michael Riesman in 2007)
Music from the Hours for piano (2002/2003, transcribed by Michael Riesman and Nico Muhly)
Concerto No.2 "After Lewis and Clark" for piano (2004, transcribed by Paul Barnes)
"Life in the Mountains" from "The Illusionist" for piano (2006, transcribed by Michael Riesman)

Works for two pianos

In Again Out Again for two pianos (1967)
Six Scenes from Les Enfants Terribles for two pianos (1996, transcribed by Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies)
Four Movements for Two Pianos (2008)

String quartets

Three String Quartets (from the early 1960s, withdrawn)
String Quartet No. 1 (1966)
String Quartet No. 2 Company (1983, composed for a dramatization of Samuel Beckett's novella; also orchestral version, see Other works for orchestra)
String Quartet No. 3 Mishima (1985)
String Quartet No. 4 Buczak (1989)
String Quartet No. 5 (1991)
Dracula for string quartet (or piano and string quartet) (1998, music for the 1931 film)

Chamber music (other than string quartets)

String Trio (around 1952, withdrawn)
Brass Sextet (1962-1964)
Play for two saxophones (1965, music for Samuel Beckett's play)
Music for Ensemble and Two Actresses for wind sextet and two speakers (1965)
Head On for violin, cello and piano (1967)
Two Down for two saxophones (1967)
Piece in the Shape of a Square for two flutes (1967)
Another Look at Harmony, Part 3 for clarinet and piano (1975)
Fourth Series Part Three for violin and clarinet (1978)
Opening from Glassworks for piano, cello and percussion (1981)
Façades, for two saxophones (or flute and clarinet) and string ensemble (1981)
Prelude to Endgame for timpani and double-bass (1984, for the play by Samuel Beckett)
Music from The Screens for chamber ensemble (1989, from a collaboration with Foday Musa Suso)
The Orchard (from The Screens) for cello, piano and percussion (1989)
Love Divided By for flute and piano (1992)
In the Summer House for violin and cello (1993, music for the play by Jane Bowles)
Saxophone Quartet (1995; also orchestral version, see Works for solo instruments and orchestra)
Tissues (from Naqoyqatsi) for cello, percussion and piano (2002)
Taoist Sacred Dance for piano and flute (2003)
Music from The Sound of a Voice for flute, pipa, violin, cello and percussion (2003)
Sonata for Violin and Piano (2008)
String Sextet (2009)

Works for solo instruments (other than piano)

Strung Out for violin (1967)
Piece in the Shape of a Square for 2 flutes (1967)
Gradus for saxophone (1968)
Arabesque In Memoriam for flute (1988)
France from The Screens for violin (1989)
Melodies for saxophone (1995)
Songs and Poems for Cello (2005-2007)

Symphonies

Symphony No. 1 Low (1993)
Symphony No. 2 (1994)
Symphony No. 3 for 19 string players (1995)
Symphony No. 4 Heroes (1996)
Symphony No. 5 Choral for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1999)
Symphony No. 6 Plutonian Ode for soprano and orchestra (2001)
Symphony No. 7 Toltec for orchestra and chorus (2005)
Symphony No. 8 (2005)

Other works for orchestra

Piece for chamber orchestra (1967)
Music in Similar Motion for chamber orchestra (1969, orch. in 1981)
Company for string orchestra (1983; orchestral version of String Quartet No. 2 Company (1983), see String quartets)
the CIVIL warS - the Cologne Section for orchestra with optional mixed chorus (1984)
Two Interludes from the CIVIL warS - the Rome Section for orchestra (1984)
Phaedra for string orchestra and percussion (1985)
Runaway Horses from Mishima for string orchestra and harp (1985)
In the Upper Room for chamber orchestra (1986, music for Twyla Tharp's dance piece)
The Light for orchestra (1987)
The Canyon, a Dramatic Episode for orchestra (1988)
Passages for chamber orchestra (1990, a collaboration with Ravi Shankar)
Mechanical Ballet from The Voyage for orchestra (1990)
Interlude from Orphée for chamber orchestra (1991)
Concerto Grosso for chamber orchestra (1992)
Three Pieces from The Secret Agent for orchestra (1995)
Days and Nights of Rocinha, Dance for orchestra (1997)
DRA Fanfare for orchestra (1999)
Dancissimo for orchestra (2001)

Works for orchestra, orchestrated by others

Modern Love Waltz for chamber orchestra (1977, orch. by Robert Moran in 1979)
The Thin Blue Line for string orchestra (1988, arr. by Michael Riesman)
Overture to "La Belle et la Bete" for string orchestra and piano (1994, arr. by Michael Riesman)
Life: A Journey Through Time in seven sections for orchestra (2006, orch. by Michael Riesman, from The Secret Agent, Les Enfants Terribles, Dracula and other works, for the visuals by Frans Lanting)

Other works for orchestra, with chorus and solo voices

The Olympian: Lighting of the Torch and Closing for orchestra and chorus (1984)
Itaipu, a symphonic portrait for chorus and orchestra in four movements (1989)
Persephone (T.S.E.) for orchestra and chorus (1994, music for a theatre work by Robert Wilson)
Songs of Milarepa for baritone and chamber orchestra (1997)
Psalm 126 for orchestra and chorus (1998)
The Passion of Ramakrishna for chorus and orchestra (2006)

Concerti and other works for solo instruments and orchestra

For piano

Piano Concerto No. 1 Tirol, for piano and string orchestra (2000)
Piano Concerto No. 2 After Lewis and Clark, for piano, Native American flute, and orchestra (2004)

For harpsichord

Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (2002)

For violin

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1960, withdrawn)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No.1 (1987)
Echorus for two violins and string orchestra (1995, version of the Etude No. 2 for piano)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No.2, "The American Four Seasons" (to be premiered in December 2009)

For cello

Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2001)

For saxophone

Facades for two saxophones (or flutes) and string orchestra (1981)
Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra (1995)

For timpani

Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra (2000)

Works for solo instruments and orchestra, arranged or orchestrated by others

Closing from "Glassworks" for piano and string orchestra (1981, arr. by Michael Riesman)
Passages for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra (1989, three movements arranged in 2001 by Dennis Russel Davies)
Dracula: Suite for string orchestra and piano (1998, arr. by Michael Riesman, 2007)
Suite from The Hours for piano, strings, harp and celeste (2002, arr. in 2003 by Michael Riesman of Glass's music for the film The Hours)

Vocal works

Music for Voices (1970)
Hebeve Song for soprano, clarinet and bassoon (1983)
Songs from Liquid Days for voices and ensemble (texts by Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, 1986)
De Cie for four voices (1988)
Ignorant Sky, Song (1995, for Suzanne Vega)
The Streets of Berlin, Song (1997, for Mick Jagger)
Planctus, Song for voice and piano (1997, for Natalie Merchant)
In the Night Kitchen for voices and chamber ensemble (2005)
Book of Longing for solo voices and chamber ensemble (2007, texts by Leonard Cohen)

Works for chorus

Another Look at Harmony, Part IV for chorus and organ (1975)
Fourth Series Part One for chorus and organ (1977)
Three Songs for chorus a-cappella (1984, texts by Leonard Cohen, Octavio Paz and Raymond Levesque)

Works for organ

Fourth Series Part Two (Dance No.2) for organ (1978)
Fourth Series Part Four (Mad Rush) for organ (1979)
Voices for organ, didgeridoo and narrator (2001)

Music for the theatre

Music for Play (Samuel Beckett, 1965)
Music for the Red Horse Animation (Lee Breuer, 1968)
Music for The Lost Ones (Beckett, 1975)
Music for the Saint and the Football Player (Thibeau and Breuer, 1975)
Dressed Like an Egg (1977)
Music for Cold Harbor (Dale Worsley and Bill Raymond, 1983)
Music for Company (Beckett, 1984)
Endgame (Beckett, 1984)
The Screens (Jean Genet, 1990, with (Foday Musa Suso)
Music for Cymbeline (Shakespeare, 1991)
Henry IV, Parts One and Two (Shakespeare, 1992)
In the Summer House (Jane Bowles, 1993)
Woyzeck (Georg Büchner, 1993)
The Elephant Man (2001)
Beckett Shorts (Beckett, 2007)
The Bacchae (Euripides, 2008)

Film scores

Mark di Suvero, sculptor (Francois de Menil and Barbara Rose, also known as North Star) (1977)
Godfrey Reggio's trilogy Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Powaqqatsi (1988) and Naqoyqatsi (2002)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985)
Hamburger Hill (John Irvin, 1987)
The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)
Mindwalk (Bernt Amadeus Capra, 1990)
A Brief History of Time (film) (Errol Morris, 1991) (biopic based on Stephen Hawking's popular physics book)
Anima Mundi (Godfrey Reggio, 1992)
Candyman (Bernard Rose, 1992) (based on Clive Barker's short story, The Forbidden)
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (Bill Condon, 1995)
Jenipapo (Monique Gradenberg, including a song written for Suzanne Vega, 1995)
The Secret Agent (Christopher Hampton, 1996)
Bent (Sean Mathias, 1997)
Kundun (Martin Scorsese, 1997) (Academy Award nomination)
The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998) (three original tracks, as well as material from Powaqqatsi, Anima Mundi and Mishima)
Dracula (1998) (re-release of Tod Browning's 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi)
Shorts (Michal Rovner, Shirin Neshat, Peter Greenaway and Atom Egoyan) (2001)
The Baroness and the Pig(Michael Mackenzie, 2002)
The Hours (Stephen Daldry, 2002) (Academy Award nomination)
The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003) (an interview of Robert McNamara, former U.S. Secretary of Defense)
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry (2004)
Secret Window (David Koepp, 2004)
Taking Lives (D.J. Caruso, 2004)
Undertow (David Gordon Green, (2004)
Neverwas (Joshua Michael Stern, 2005)
The Reaping (Stephen Hopkins, 2006) (rejected)
Chaotic Harmony (Sat Chuen Hon, 2006)
Roving Mars (George Butler, 2006)
The Illusionist (Neil Burger, 2006)
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006)
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
No Reservations (Scott Hicks) (2007)
Cassandra's Dream (Woody Allen) (2007)
Les Animaux Amoureux (Laurent Charbonnier) (2007)

Arrangements

Icct Hedral for orchestra (1995, from the electronic track by Aphex Twin)
Sound of Silence for piano (2005, from the song by Paul Simon)

Other works

One Plus One for amplified tabletop (1968)
Sesame Street Cues (1977) [ASCAP Title Code: 498083802]
Pink Noise, acoustic installation (1987, with Richard Serra)
Brown Piano, Martingala, Double Rhythm, Boogie Mood, Sax, Variation: alarm bleeps for Swatch wristwatches (1994, some with Jean Michel Jarre)
Aguas da Amazonia (arranged and performed by Uakti from 12 Pieces for Ballet, 1993/1999)
Philip Glass donated a track to the CD Too Many Years: A Benefit for Clear Path International

External links