American composer born January 31, 1937, in Baltimore, Maryland, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary classical music. Trained at the Peabody Preparatory, the University of Chicago, the Juilliard School (under Vincent Persichetti and William Bergsma), and later in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, Glass developed a signature style built on repetitive structures and additive rhythmic processes, founding the Philip Glass Ensemble in 1968. Though closely associated with musical minimalism alongside Steve Reich and Terry Riley, his mature work — including operas, symphonies, film scores, and chamber music — moved toward a more lyrical, expansive idiom that he preferred to call simply his own.

Glass is one of the most performed and recognizable composers of the past half-century, with a catalog including the operas Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten; fifteen symphonies; and acclaimed film scores such as Koyaanisqatsi, The Thin Blue Line, and The Hours. He received a Kennedy Center Honor (2018) and a Grammy Trustees Award (2020), and his minimalist techniques permanently reshaped both classical composition and popular/electronic music, proving that repetitive, process-based music could sustain large-scale symphonic and theatrical works.

Compare recordings piece by piece — 10 works of Philip Glass with more than one performance on the site →

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Glass