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Philip Glass

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Philip Glass (born in January 31, 1937) is an American composer of minimalist music. He was born in Baltimore and in his childhood Philip studied flute in the Peabody Conservatory. Later, he attended the music school Julliard, where he learned to play almost exclusively the piano.

After studying with Nadia Boulanger and working with Ravi Shankar in France, Glass traveled to northern India in 1966, mainly because of religious reasons, where he came in contact with the Tibetan refugees. Philip converted to Buddhism and met the Dalai Lama in 1972. He is a great defender of the Tibetan cause. His work with Ravi Shankar and his perception of the addictive rhythm of the Indian music led him to create his peculiar style. When he returned home, he renounced to all his previous compositions Milhaud and Copland style and started writing austere pieces based in addictive rhythms and with a sense of tempo influenced by Samuel Beckett.

Glass orchestrated some instrumental parts of the albums of David Bowie “Low” and “Heroes”. He has also orchestrated several movies, such as the documentary “Koyaanisqatsi”, “Mishima”, “Kundun”, and more recently, “The Hours” by the director Stephen Daldry. Glass also composed the soundtrack of the film “The Truman Show”, winning several awards.

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