In 2026, Steve Reich celebrates his 90th birthday. In 2027, it will be Philip Glass’. Two figures in the history of contemporary classical music who have redefined the landscape holistically.
Steve Reich © Jennifer Taylor
Philip Glass © s3.amazonaws.com
Two composers who have revolutionised how music was conceived and perceived. Two composers who have reconnected musicians and listeners — after decades of the post-Viennese and Darmstadt schools — with one another. Two composers who, through the medium of repetition and restraint, have brought tonality back. If initially their music was received with rejection in traditional concert halls, their influence today is undeniable — in fact, an entire form of music has been created in the wake of their work: minimalism.
Philip Glass – Glassworks (complete)
Glass is perhaps the most well-known of the pair, due to two critical career choices — a first focus on film music, which brought his music to a wider audience through films such as The Hours and Koyaanisqatsi. With zero dialogue, the latter placed Glass’ music at the forefront and cemented his reputation as a film composer. His second focus on opera, his real magnum opus, with more than thirty operas, has led Glass to occupy concert halls around the world for the past decades, with works such as the Portrait trilogy or the Cocteau trilogy. Furthermore, the diversity of his output, from keyboard works that are now considered standard repertoire, such as Metamorphosis or Glassworks, as well as études, to multiple symphonies and concertos, is remarkable. Glass is one of the most prolific composers of modern times, with hundreds of works to date.
Jonny Greenwood – Electric Counterpoint Steve Reich Paris 2024
Reich’s early experiments with tape and phasing gradually developed into a broader exploration of rhythm, pulse, harmony and ensemble playing, culminating in works such as Drumming, Music for 18 Musicians and Different Trains. His musical language was also shaped by his studies of West African drumming, Balinese gamelan and Hebrew chant, which he then absorbed into his own compositional framework. As his career developed, his output extended from small-scale works for percussion and solo instruments to orchestral, vocal, chamber and multimedia works, including Tehillim, The Desert Music, The Cave and City Life. His influence has also extended well beyond the concert hall, with collaborations and reinterpretations involving artists such as Pat Metheny, the Kronos Quartet, Brian Eno and Jonny Greenwood.
Reich – Tehillim – Complete (Official Score Video)
If the two composers started their careers as musical colleagues and friends, and pioneered minimalism together — even sharing ensembles, concerts and repertoire — they later entered a decades-long period of rivalry, marked by creative differences, competing ambitions and disagreements over recognition. It was only in 2012 that the ice finally broke, and they began to reunite around projects involving the Kronos Quartet.
Reich and Glass have also opened the classical audience to African, Indian and Indonesian music — not only through their works, but also through the collaborations they have developed over the years — for instance, between Glass and Indian musician Ravi Shankar, or Reich and the music of West Africa.
Today, the list of composers influenced by their work is significant and international: John Adams, Max Richter, Michael Nyman, Wim Mertens, Arvo Pärt, and the list continues to grow. In fact, their influence extends beyond the classical world: from Brian Eno, David Bowie and Aphex Twin to Jonny Greenwood, Robert Fripp, Pete Townshend and Tangerine Dream. Many musicians feel their influence, sometimes unconsciously, but surely for many more years to come…
For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter
