Philip Glass

Where to start? An impressive book about an impressive life. Glass loves life and lives it positively. Astounding attitude. Never cares whether anyone likes his music. He thinks musically. This book helped me understand many of his works. It also let me know there are many many more works that I never knew about, and will begin to search out. I knew he had scored several movies. I had no idea it was more than 30 so far. This book shares a lot but leaves some obvious holes. He mentions having four kids but we only learn about the first two.… (mer)

I learned a lot. Glass shows the importance of the various roles such as director, producer, scenic designer, composer, libretist, funder, etc, etc. I learned the complexity of the decisions needed to bring a new production to fruition. What was most suprising was the acceptance or even interest in seeing different takes that different directors bring to productions of the same work. Glass clearly has a deep appreciation of the scenic impact and what will have a dramatic impact on an audience. He closely considers the language to be used for each audience. The book centers on his three major operas, Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha and Akhnaten but also provides insights into lots of other Glass pieces and collaborations.… (mer)

What this book demonstrates is Philip Glass is not even remotely as good when forced to express himself with words and not music. At his best describing the creative process - particularly bits about transcendent experience through creation that come at the end of the book - Glass is less effective conveying relationships with members of his family, or engaging with his critics, or describing his spiritual practice. The lengthy recounting of his trips to India in the center of the book sucked all oxygen out of the overall narrative. While Glass has led a remarkable life and I know more about that life than I did before I read this book, I didn't find any insights into the music that putting on a record wouldn't offer on its own.… (mer)