Philip Glass
2008–present: Chamber music, concertos, and symphonies

Between 2008 and 2010, Glass continued to work on a series of chamber music pieces which started with Songs and Poems: the Four Movements for Two Pianos (2008, premiered by Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa in July 2008), a Sonata for Violin and Piano composed in "the Brahms tradition" (completed in 2008, premiered by violinist Maria Bachman and pianist Jon Klibonoff in February 2009); a String sextet (an adaption of the Symphony No. 3 of 1995 made by Glass's musical director Michael Riesman) followed in 2009. Pendulum (2010, a one-movement piece for violin and piano), a second Suite of cello pieces for Wendy Sutter (2011), and Partita for solo violin for violinist Tim Fain (2010, first performance of the complete work 2011), are recent entries in the series.

Other works for the theater were a score for Euripides ' The Bacchae (2009, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis), and Kepler (2009), yet another operatic biography of a scientist or explorer. The opera is based on the life of 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, against the background of the Thirty Years' War, with a libretto compiled from Kepler's texts and poems by his contemporary Andreas Gryphius. It is Glass's first opera in German, and was premiered by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and Dennis Russell Davies in September 2009. LA Times critic Mark Swed and others described the work as " oratorio -like"; Swed pointed out the work is Glass's "most chromatic, complex, psychological score" and "the orchestra dominates... I was struck by the muted, glowing colors, the character of many orchestral solos and the poignant emphasis on bass instruments".

In 2009 and 2010, Glass returned to the concerto genre. Violin Concerto No. 2 in four movements was commissioned by violinist Robert McDuffie, and subtitled "The American Four Seasons" (2009), as an homage to Vivaldi 's set of concertos The Four Seasons. It premiered in December 2009 by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and was subsequently performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2010. The Double Concerto for Violin and Cello and Orchestra (2010) was composed for soloists Maria Bachmann and Wendy Sutter and also as a ballet score for the Nederlands Dans Theater. Other orchestral projects of 2010 are short orchestral scores for films; to a multimedia presentation based on the novel Icarus at the Edge of Time by theoretical physicist Brian Greene, which premiered on June 6, 2010, and the score for the Brazilian film Nosso Lar (released in Brazil on September 3, 2010). Glass also donated a short work, Brazil, to the video game Chime, which was released on February 3, 2010.

In August 2011, Glass presented a series of music, dance, and theater performances as part of the Days and Nights Festival. Along with the Philip Glass Ensemble, scheduled performers include Molissa Fenley and Dancers, John Moran with Saori Tsukada, as well as a screening of Dracula with Glass's score.

Other works completed since 2010 include Symphony No. 9 (2010–2011), Symphony No. 10 (2012), Cello Concerto No. 2 (2012, based on the film score to Naqoyqatsi) as well as String Quartet No. 6 and No. 7. Glass's Ninth Symphony was co-commissioned by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the American Composers Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The symphony's first performance took place on January 1, 2012, at the Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria (Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Bruckner Orchestra Linz); the American premiere was on January 31, 2012, (Glass's 75th birthday), at Carnegie Hall (Dennis Russell Davies conducting the American Composers Orchestra), and the West Coast premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of John Adams on April 5. Glass's Tenth Symphony, written in five movements, was commissioned by the Orchestre français des jeunes for its 30th anniversary. The symphony's first performance took place on August 9, 2012, at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence under Dennis Russell Davies. The opera The Perfect American was composed in 2011 to a commission from Teatro Real Madrid. The libretto is based on a book of the same name by Peter Stephan Jungk and covers the final months of the life of Walt Disney. The world premiere was at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on January 22, 2013, with British baritone Christopher Purves taking the role of Disney. The UK premiere took place on June 1, 2013, in a production by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum. The US premiere took place on March 12, 2017, in a production by Long Beach Opera.

His opera The Lost, based on a play by Austrian playwright and novelist Peter Handke, Die Spuren der Verirrten (2007), premiered at the Musiktheater Linz} in April 2013, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies and directed by David Pountney.

On June 28, 2013, Glass's piano piece Two Movements for Four Pianos was premiered at the Museum Kunstpalast, performed by Katia and Marielle Labèque, Maki Namekawa, and Dennis Russell Davies.

On January 17, 2014, Glass's collaboration with Angélique Kidjo Ifé: Three Yorùbá Songs for Orchestra premiered at the Philharmonie Luxembourg.

In May 2015, Glass's Double Concerto for Two Pianos was premiered by Katia and Marielle Labèque, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Glass published his memoir, Words Without Music, in 2015. His 11th symphony, commissioned by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Istanbul International Music Festival, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, premiered on January 31, 2017, Glass's 80th birthday, at Carnegie Hall, Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Bruckner Orchestra. On September 22, 2017, his Piano Concerto No. 3 was premiered by pianist Simone Dinnerstein with the strings of the chamber orchestra A Far Cry at Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. Glass' String Quartet No. 8 was premiered by the JACK Quartet at Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Canada on February 1, 2018. The work was commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall.

Glass's 12th symphony was premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under John Adams at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on January 10, 2019. Commissioned by the orchestra, the work is based on David Bowie's 1979 album Lodger, it completes Glass's trilogy of symphonies based on Bowie's Berlin Trilogy of albums.

In collaboration with stage auteur, performer and co-director (with Kirsty Housley) Phelim McDermott, Glass composed the score for the new work Tao of Glass, which premiered at the 2019 Manchester International Festival before touring to the 2020 Perth Festival.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Glass continued composing, with three major works for opera and symphony premiering in 2021 and 2022. Glass' opera Circus Days and Nights was commissioned by Cirkus Cirkor. The libretto by David Henry Hwang and Tilde Björfors is based on a book of poems by Robert Lax. The world premiere was at the Malmo Opera, Malmo, Sweden, on May 29, 2021. Glass's Symphony No. 14 was premiered by the LGT Young Soloists at the Royal College of Music in London on September 17, 2021. The work was commissioned by the orchestra. Glass's Symphony No. 13 was premiered by the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Alexander Shelley at the Roy Thompson Hall in Los Angeles on March 30, 2022. Commissioned by the orchestra, the work was written as a tribute to Canadian journalist Peter Jennings.

On November 7, 2023, Glass and Artisan Books released Philip Glass Piano Etudes: The Complete Folios 1–20 & Essays from Fellow Artists a nine-pound deluxe boxed set of Glass' piano etudes and Studies in Time: Essays on the Music of Philip Glass.
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