Philip Glass is an American composer who was born in 1937. He writes operas, symphonies, piano pieces, and film scores built from rippling patterns that repeat and change a little at a time. His music is heard in opera houses, concert halls, and cinemas around the world. The best first piece for a child is “Opening” from Glassworks, about six minutes for piano.
Quick facts
- Born: 1937, in Baltimore, Maryland
- Lives: in New York
- Era: Contemporary
- Plays: piano and keyboards
- Known for: Glassworks, the opera Einstein on the Beach, piano études, and music for more than 50 films
The life in short
Glass’s father had a radio repair shop in Baltimore that sold records too. He brought home the records that did not sell, to find out why. Many of them were modern pieces and string quartets, and Philip grew up listening to them.
He learned the violin and the flute as a boy. At 15, he entered the University of Chicago. Then he studied composing at the Juilliard School in New York.
In 1964, he went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, a famous teacher of composers. She drilled him in the basics for two years.
In Paris, he took a job writing down the music of the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar for a film. Indian music is built from small units of rhythm that add up into long chains. That idea changed how Glass wrote.
He came back to New York in 1967 and formed a group of his own, with electric keyboards, flutes, saxophones, and singers, all amplified.
For years, his music did not pay the rent. He drove a taxi and worked as a plumber. In 1976, his opera Einstein on the Beach filled the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. He went back to driving his taxi soon after. He was past 40 before he could live from music alone.
Since then, he has written more than a dozen symphonies, more than 25 operas, and music for more than 50 films.
He does not like the word “minimalism.” He calls his work “music with repetitive structures.”
He shares a birthday, January 31, with the composer Franz Schubert, and he has named Schubert as his favorite. Read Schubert for kids.
What the music sounds like
Glass’s music is made of broken chords, called arpeggios, that ripple up and down. A pattern repeats. Then it grows by a note or two, and then it shrinks again.
The harmony is plain and often thoughtful or sad. Two rhythms often run at the same time, such as three notes in one hand against two in the other.
Pieces to play first
“Opening,” from Glassworks. A piano piece. The right hand plays groups of three notes while the left hand plays groups of two. The chords change, and the pattern stays.
Metamorphosis Two. A slow piano piece. A short tune floats over a rocking left hand.
“Knee Play 1,” from Einstein on the Beach. A choir sings numbers over three slow notes on an electric organ. The opera has no story in the usual sense, and the singers count and sing the names of notes.
Violin Concerto No. 1, third movement. The orchestra drives a fast pattern while the violin races above it.
“Truman Sleeps,” from The Truman Show. A gentle piano piece from a film.
Things to do together
Three against two. Tap three even beats with one hand while the other hand taps two. Say “nice cup of tea” to keep it steady. Both hands land on “nice.”
Grow a pattern. Sing or play three notes. Repeat them and add a fourth. Repeat and add a fifth. Then take the notes away one at a time.
Count along. Play “Knee Play 1” and count with the choir.
Sound off, sound on. Watch a film scene that uses his music with the sound off. Guess what the music will be. Watch again with the sound on.
Ripple. On a piano or keyboard, play C, E, G, E again and again with a steady beat. Change one note and listen to how the mood shifts.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Glass. Learn about his instrument in the piano for kids. For two more composers who build with patterns, read Steve Reich for kids and John Adams for kids. For more composers at work now, read living composers kids can hear today.
For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
Sources
Checked in November 2026.
- IRCAM. (2025). Philip Glass.
- LA Opera. (2025). Philip Glass: A life in repetition, reinvention, and revelation.
- Pacific Northwest Ballet. (2025). The man behind the music: Philip Glass.
- Wise Music Classical. (n.d.). Philip Glass.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.