Glass is a prolific composer: He has written works for his own musical group which he founded, the Philip Glass Ensemble (for which he still performs on keyboards), as well as operas, musical theater works, eight symphonies, eight concertos, solo works, string quartets, and film scores. His film scores include the "Qatsi" trilogy by director Godfrey Reggio ("Koyaanisqatsi", "Powaqqatsi" and "Naqoyqatsi"), Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Martin Scorsese's "Kundun", Peter Weir's "The Truman Show" and Stephen Daldry's "The Hours," in addition to a number of operas ("Einstein on the Beach" and "Satyagraha") and the quintessention of the minimalist tradition with "Music in Twelve Parts." Three of his film scores have been nominated for Academy Awards.


Glass counts many artists, writers, musicians and directors among his friends, such as Richard Serra, Chuck Close, Doris Lessing, the late Allen Ginsberg, Robert Wilson, Godfrey Reggio, Ravi Shankar, David Bowie, and the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, who have all collaborated with him. He is (primarily) Buddhist and a strong supporter of the Tibetan cause. In 1987 he co-founded the Tibet House with Columbia University professor Robert Thurman and the actor Richard Gere.

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ambient, classical, soundtrack, minimalism, contemporary classical