Philip Glass

(image from the San Francisco Opera)

On October 5, 2007 the San Francisco Opera will present the premiere of Appomattox by Philip Glass. At the library we always try to order scores, librettos, recordings and videorecordings for each opera season. Since none of these are available for a newly composed work, allow us to introduce some books, scores and recordings by and about Philip Glass from our collection.

The library has two books written by the composer: Music by Philip Glass, and Opera On The Beach, Philip Glass On His New World Of Music Theatre. We also own the collection Writings On Glass: Essays, Interviews, Criticism, edited by Richard Kostelanetz. Books like American Minimal Music: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass by Wim Mertens and Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass by Keith Potter place Glass within a wider context of contemporary American music.

In our LP collection (12” long playing records) we have recordings of Glass’s earlier operas Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha. We have circulating librettos for Satyagraha and Akhnaten.

The library’s score collection includes the following compositions by Philip Glass:

Songs From Liquid Days (songs written to lyrics by Paul Simon, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega and Laurie Anderson)

Solo Piano (consisting of three works: Metamorphosis, Mad rush, and Wichita vortex sutra)

The Piano Collection (a collection of more than 20 short works for piano)

Violin Concerto (a score for violin and piano reduction)

Dance No. 4: For Organ

Melodies For Saxophone

Music in Similar Motion (originally written for three woodwinds and three organs)

Saxophone Quartet

Strung Out: For Amplified Violin

The library’s Audiovisual Center has many CDs of Glass's music. He also wrote the music for several films in our DVD and video collection including The Fog of War, The Hours, Koyaanisqatsi, Secret Window, and The Thin Blue Line.

(Philip Glass signature from "Strung Out" (1967))