Glass: A Portrait

by Robert Maycock

Written jointly as an appraisal of his work and a biography, Philip Glass details the landmark points of his career and the artists he recorded with, such as Ravi Shankar.

Genres: Music, Biography

191 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the time of its publication in 2002, Robert Maycock's Glass: A Portrait was likely among the best (or perhaps the only) snapshots of Philip Glass's life and work. Today, however, it's dated and is overshadowed by more recently published biographies. Like some other reviewers have pointed out, this book is less of a biography and more of a cumulative review of Glass's music organized into sections, "Solo and Orchestra," "Explorers on Stage and Screen," and "Reinventing Symphonies," to name just a few.

The conversations between Maycock and Glass give a unique look into Glass's life in the early 2000s, after he'd just written his 6th symphony, and just months before his film score for The Hours premiered. For me, this perspective and insight from Glass is the only great part of this book. Maycock does a fine job in the interviews, but the best ideas come from Glass himself.

Today, I would sooner recommend Glass's memoir, Words Without Music: A Memoir, published in 2016. Glass talks about his own life more humbly, honestly, and in greater detail than any interviewer or biographer ever has. However, if you're a big fan of Glass's life, writing, and music, Maycock's 2002 "biography" isn't bad at all.

[Mark Kavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given his status, there are surprisingly few books about the man and his work.

This volume is not a biography - published in 2002 it looks at his works up to that date grouped into chapters about symphonies, solo & orchestra, and stage & screen. There's then a final chapter about his early works.

Whilst this approach is fine, for me the main drawback is the lack of printed musical examples (maybe as a result of copyright issues?). So the descriptions of `descending scales and swirling chords` become `samey` after a while.

Having said that, for anyone interested in Glass's music this is a decent read. It's also worth seeking out the composers own `Opera on the Beach` which covers the creation his first three operas.

[j_ay · Rating 3 out of 5]

As this is the closest thing around for a biography on Glass, this is as good as it gets. For now (hopefully). Glass gave the author an interview specifically for this publication, and the excerpts are quite nice, but it leaves the reader simply wishing the interview was published in whole.

[Eamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading if you're a fan of the music of Philip Glass.