List of compositions by Philip Glass

The following is a list of compositions by Philip Glass.

Works for the Philip Glass Ensemble[]

• 600 Lines (1967)
• How Now for ensemble (also for piano, 1968)
• Music in Fifths (1969)
• Music in Similar Motion (1969)
• Music with Changing Parts (1970, recorded 1973)
• Music in Twelve Parts (1971–1974)
• Another Look at Harmony, Parts 1 and 2 (1975)
• North Star (1977)
• Dance (Dance 1, 3 and 5, 1979, with Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt)
• Glassworks (1981)
• A Descent into the Maelstrom (based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, 1985)
• 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 DeJong)
• Akhnaten (1983, libretto by Philip Glass and Shalom Goldman)
• The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down, Act V – The Rome Section (1983, with Robert Wilson, libretto by Robert Wilson and Maita di Niscemi, including 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)
•  [fr; pt] (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 (2007, libretto by Christopher Hampton)
• Kepler (2009, libretto by Martina Winkel, including texts by Johannes Kepler and Andreas Gryphius)
• The Perfect American (2011, based on the book about Walt Disney by Peter Stephan Jungk, premiered at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on January 22, 2013)
• Spuren der Verirrten (The Lost) (2013, Libretto in German adapted by Rainer Mennicken after the play Spuren der Verirrten by Peter Handke, premiered 12 April 2013 at the  [de], Austria)
• Circus Days and Nights (2021. Librettists David Henry Hwang and circus director Tilde Björfors based on a collection of poems by American poet Robert Lax. Premiered on Malmö Opera‘s main stage with live music to a live audience^[1] and livestreamed worldwide May 29, 2021, thru June 13, 2021.)

Chamber operas, music theatre[]

• A Madrigal Opera for six voices, violin and viola (1980)
• The Photographer for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1982, based on the life of Eadweard Muybridge)
• The Juniper Tree (1984, with Robert Moran, libretto by Arthur Yorinks)
• The Fall of the House of Usher (libretto by Arthur Yorinks 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 (1996), Dance Opera for voices and three pianos (1996, after Jean Cocteau's 1929 novel and the 1950 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 a pipa (2003, libretto by David Henry Hwang)
• The Trial (2014, for voices and chamber orchestra; libretto by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Franz Kafka)

Works for solo piano or electric organ[]

• How Now for piano or electric organ (1968)
• Two Pages for piano or electric organ (1968)
• Music in Contrary Motion for electric organ (1969)
• Another Look at Harmony, Part 3 for electric organ (1975)
• Knee Play 4 for piano (1975, from Einstein on the Beach)
• Modern Love Waltz for piano (piano version of Fourth Series, Part Three, 1978)
• Mad Rush for piano or electric organ (originally Fourth Series, Part Four, 1979)
• Opening for piano (1981, from Glassworks)
• The Olympian for piano (1984)
• Cadenza for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (K. 467, 1786) (1987)
• Wichita Vortex Sutra for piano (1988, later included in Hydrogen Jukebox)
• Metamorphosis for piano (1988, see album Solo Piano)
• 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)
• Truman Sleeps (1998, from the film The Truman Show)
• Dreaming Awake for piano (2003, written and recorded by Glass as a benefit for Jewel Heart)
• A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, two movements for piano (2005, Etudes 11 and 12 of Volume 2)
• Etudes for piano, Volume 2 (2012)
• Distant Figure – Passacaglia (2017)
• First Piano Sonata (2019)

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)
• Candyman: Helen's Theme and more for piano (1992, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• Overture from La Belle et la Bête for piano (1994, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• Jenipapo: No. 14 for piano (1995, 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)
• Naqoyqatsi: Primacy of Number for piano (2002, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• The Fog of War for piano (2002, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• 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)
• Neverwas Set for piano (2005, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• "Life in the Mountains" from "The Illusionist" for piano (2006, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• Notes on Scandal: I knew her for piano (2006, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• No Reservations Combine for piano (2007, transcribed by Michael Riesman)
• Prophecies from Koyaanisqatsi for piano (2015, transcribed by Anton Batagov)

Works for two or more 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)
• Two Movements for Four Pianos (2013)

String quartets[]

• String Quartet No. 1 (1966)
• String Quartet No. 2 Company (1984, composed for a dramatization of Samuel Beckett's novella)
• String Quartet No. 3 Mishima (1985)
• String Quartet No. 4 Buczak (1989, dedicated to Brian Buczak and commissioned by Geoffrey Hendricks)
• String Quartet No. 5 (1991)
• Bent for String Quartet (1997)
• Dracula for string quartet (or piano and string quartet) (1998, music for the 1931 film)
• String Quartet No. 6 (2013)
• String Quartet No. 7 (2014)
• String Quartet No. 8 (2018)
• King Lear (music for the Broadway production)(2019)

Chamber music (other than string quartets)[]

• 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)
• Music in the Shape of a Square for two flutes (1967)
• Two Down for two saxophones (1967)
• Music in Eight Parts for two soprano saxophones, viola, cello and three electric organs (1969)
• 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 (1989/1991, from a collaboration with Foday Musa Suso)
• Passages for chamber ensemble (1990, from a collaboration with Ravi Shankar)
• The Orchard (from The Screens) for cello and piano (plus optional 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 § For multiple soloists)
• 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)
• Pendulum, movement for violin and piano (2010)
• Duos for violin and cello (2010–11, arranged from Double Concerto for Violin and Cello)
• Annunciation, piano quintet for two violins, viola, cello, and piano (2018)
• Perpetulum, percussion quartet (2019)

Chamber music (other than string quartets), arranged by others[]

• The Windcatcher for saxophone sextet (1992/2002, arranged from 'Love Divided By' by Nico Muhly)
• String Sextet (1995/2009, adapted from Symphony No.3 by Michael Riesman)

Works for solo instruments (other than piano)[]

• Strung Out for amplified violin (1967)
• Gradus for soprano saxophone (1968)
• Arabesque in Memoriam for flute (1988)
• France from The Screens for violin (1989)
• Melodies for saxophone (1995)
• Songs and Poems No. 1 for Solo Cello (2005–2007)
• Songs and Poems No. 2 for Solo Cello (2010)
• Partita for Solo Violin (2010–2011)
• Orbit for solo cello, for Yo-Yo Ma and Lil Buck, April 2, 2013, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Manhattan^[2]
• Partita for Solo Double Bass (The Not Doings of an Insomniac) (2015)

Symphonies[]

• Symphony No. 1 (1992) based on Low by David Bowie
• Symphony No. 2 (1994)
• Symphony No. 3 (1995) for string orchestra
• Symphony No. 4 (1996) based on "Heroes" by David Bowie
• Symphony No. 5 (1999) Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya for soloists, chorus and orchestra
• Symphony No. 6 (2002) Plutonian Ode for soprano and orchestra
• Symphony No. 7 (2005) Toltec for chorus and orchestra
• Symphony No. 8 (2005)
• Symphony No. 9 (2011)
• Symphony No. 10 (2012)
• Symphony No. 11 (2017)
• Symphony No. 12 (2019) based on Lodger by David Bowie
• Symphony No. 13 (2022)
• Symphony No. 14 (2021)

Other works for orchestra[]

• Piece for Chamber Orchestra (1965)
• 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)
• Glass Pieces for orchestra (1983, orchestral versions of "Funeral" from Akhnaten and Floe and Facades, for Jerome Robbins' ballet)
• Prelude and Dance from Akhnaten for orchestra (1983)
• 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)
• 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)
• Phaedra for string orchestra and percussion (1986)
• The Light, a Symphonic Portrait 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)
• Suite from Orphée for chamber orchestra (1991, compiled by The Knights in 2013)
• Concerto Grosso for chamber orchestra (1992)
• Three Pieces from The Secret Agent for orchestra (1995)
• Days and Nights in Rocinha, Dance for orchestra (1997)
• DRA Fanfare for orchestra (1999)
• Dancissimo for orchestra (2001)
• Icarus at the Edge of Time for narrator and orchestra (2010)
• Harmonium Mountain for orchestra (2011)
• Black and White Scherzo for orchestra (2011, movement 6 of Symphony No.10)
• Overture 2012 for orchestra (2012)
• King Lear Overture for orchestra (2019)

Works for orchestra, orchestrated by others[]

• Modern Love Waltz for chamber orchestra (1978, orch. by Robert Moran in 1979)
• The Thin Blue Line for string orchestra (1988, arr. by Michael Riesman)
• Overture to La Belle et la Bête 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)
• Overture from La Belle et la Bête for string orchestra (2007, arr. by  [ru])
• Four Pieces from "Dracula" for string orchestra and piano (2007, arr. by Viktor Kopytko)

Other works for orchestra, with chorus and solo voices[]

• Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of balance for chorus, ensemble and orchestra (1982, performance version 2009)
• 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)
• Piano Concerto No. 3, for piano and string orchestra (2017)

For violin[]

• 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" (2009)

For cello[]

• Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No.1 (2001)
• Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2 Naqoyqatsi (2002/2012)

For harpsichord[]

• Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra (2002)

For multiple soloists[]

• Facades for two saxophones (or flutes) and string orchestra (1981)
• Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra (1995)
• Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra (2000)
• Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra (2010)
• Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (2015)

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 Russell 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)
• Orphée Suite from the opera Orphée for flute, strings and percussion (2017, arr. by James Strauss)
• Flute Concerto for flute and orchestra – transcription from Violin Concerto n. 1 (2017 arr. by James Strauss)

Vocal works[]

• Music for Voices (1970)
• Habeve Song for soprano, clarinet and bassoon (1982)
• Songs from Liquid Days for voices and ensemble (texts by Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, 1985)
• 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, text by Maurice Sendak)
• Book of Longing for solo voices and chamber ensemble (2007, texts by Leonard Cohen)

Works for chorus[]

• Haze Gold for chorus (1962, text by Carl Sandburg)
• A Clear Midnight for chorus (early 1960s, text by Carl Sandburg)
• Spring Grass for chorus (early 1960s, text by Carl Sandburg)
• Another Look at Harmony, Part IV for chorus and organ (1977)
• Three Songs for chorus a cappella (1984, texts by Leonard Cohen, Octavio Paz and Raymond Lévesque)

Works for organ[]

• Dance No. 2 for organ (originally Fourth Series, Part Two, 1978)
• Dance No. 4 for organ (1979)
• Mad Rush for organ (originally Fourth Series Part Four, 1979)
• Voices for organ, didgeridoo and narrator (2001)

Music for the theatre[]

Incidental music for stage works:

• Play (Samuel Beckett, 1965)
• The Red Horse Animation (Lee Breuer, 1968)
• The Lost Ones (Beckett, 1975)
• Cascando (Beckett, 1975)
• The Saint and the Football Player (Thibeau and Breuer, 1975)
• Dressed Like an Egg (for Mabou Mines, 1977)
• Cold Harbor (Dale Worsley and Bill Raymond, 1983)
• Company (Beckett, 1984)
• Endgame (Beckett, 1984)
• Worstward Ho (Beckett, 1986)
• The Screens (Jean Genet, 1990, with Foday Musa Suso)
• 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)
• The Crucible (Arthur Miller, 2016)^[3]
• King Lear (Shakespeare, 2019)

Dance scores[]

• Dance (1979, with Lucinda Childs and Sol LeWitt, see works Ensemble and Organ)
• Glass Pieces (1983, for Jerome Robbins, see orchestral works)
• In the Upper Room (1986, for Twyla Tharp, see orchestral works)
• Music for Mysteries and What's So Funny (1991, for David Gordon)
• Heroes Symphony (1996, short version of Symphony No. 4, for Twyla Tharp)

Film and television scores[]

• Chappaqua (Conrad Rooks, 1966, music by Ravi Shankar, Glass as music supervisor)
• Inquiring Nuns (Gordon Quinn, 1968)
• North Star: Mark di Suvero, Sculptor (François de Menil and Barbara Rose) (1977)
• Sesame Street Cues (1979) [ASCAP Title Code: 498083802]
• 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 (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 Gardenberg, 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, BAFTA win)
• 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)
• Night Stalker (2005, theme music for the TV Series by Frank Spotnitz)
• 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) (Academy Award nomination)
• No Reservations (Scott Hicks, 2007)
• Cassandra's Dream (Woody Allen, 2007)
•  [fr] (Laurent Charbonnier, 2007)
• Transcendent Man (Barry Ptolemy, 2009)
• Mr. Nice (Bernard Rose, 2010)
• Nosso Lar (Wagner de Assis, 2010)
• Icarus at the Edge of Time (2010)
• Elena (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2011)
• They Were There (Errol Morris, 2011)
• Visitors (Godfrey Reggio, 2013)
• Fantastic Four (Josh Trank, 2015)
• Jane (Brett Morgen, 2017)
• Samurai Marathon (Bernard Rose, 2019)
• Tales from the Loop (Amazon Original, 2020)

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 (1967)
• Long Beach Island, Word Location (1969, sculpture, a collaboration with Richard Serra)
• The Late Great Johnny Ace, coda to the song from Paul Simon's Hearts and Bones (1983)
• 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)

Transcriptions[]

In 2012, Lavinia Meijer, a Korean-born Dutch harpist, released the album Metamorphosis / The Hours with works from Philip Glass, transcribed for harp by Meijer and approved by Glass.^[4]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Glass, Philip (1987). Jones, Robert T. (ed.). Music by Philip Glass. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-015823-9.

External links[]

• Alphabetical list of Philip Glass' works on his website
• List of compositions by Philip Glass discography at Discogs