Two operas were dedicated to Albert Einstein (1976), Mahatma Singh (1978-1979), and Akhenaten (82-1983), respectively. Philip Glass (Baltimore 1937) has completed a piece about Abraham Lincoln (16th president) of the United States. I am currently working on a new vocal work and orchestral piece for solo baritone, with full symphonic accompaniment. It is expected to be a 50-60 page full score composition. This will be my fifteenth symphony. The text is entirely inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and writings,” the artist said after receiving the Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Music and Opera.
Glass is not certain of the format, but the piece will be premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington in October. It was originally intended to be a concert piece but has many characteristics of an opera. Its category is still a mystery to me. Symphony? Opera? We will surely find out soon. He does know that it will take about an hour.
Lincoln was the leader of the United States during Civil War. He abolished slavery and modernized the economy. Four days later, he was assassinated for claiming the right to vote for blacks in his speech. When I composed operas, I was fascinated by people like Einstein and Gandhi, who were very radical in how they lived their lives. The musician recalls that all of them had “changed the world in which their lives were lived”. Lincoln, along with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (American pantheon’s most beloved president), and George Washington (American pantheon’s most loved president) are all part of that group of characters who have changed the world.
Frontiers of Knowledge Award: A “unique and personal style” based on “different cultures from around the globe”. Glass says that while learning to write music, “some of the skills I used when studying physics or math were the same.” It was music that I realized almost all of his accomplishments could be expressed. Music continues to be a major part of her life eight decades later.
I created them for my own use, but they become the property of the public. They are theirs. It is an incredible feeling to create art, to be able to visualize it and to then communicate it. It’s a great feeling to create. It is what gets me up each morning. It should be a commitment to bring joy to the world and for oneself,” the musician said to a packed auditorium. 1′.
