Inspired by Philip Glass

“I think Philip’s influence is much greater than most people realize,” composer and pianist Dustin O’Halloran tells Apple Music. “His music has been a big inspiration for me and many contemporary composers, electronic musicians, rock music.” Indeed, there are few, if any, composers who’ve had as broad and profound an impact on modern music as Baltimore-born Philip Glass. Drawing on the music of India, his boundary-leaping adventures in minimalism and repetition—and their fine balance between invention and accessibility—can be discerned in disco, techno, hip-hop, and multiple forms of art rock. He’s reinvigorated our idea of what opera, symphonies, and film scores can be, while also collaborating with figures as varied and unique as David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, dancer Twyla Tharp, and poet Allen Ginsberg. Here, in a playlist first curated to celebrate Glass’ 85th birthday on January 31, 2022, composers and artists from across the musical landscape pay tribute by selecting some of their own works that bear the American visionary’s inspiration—with many talking us through their selections below. Nico Muhly, “A Hudson Cycle” “This takes something I stole very explicitly from [Glass], which is the sense of a never-ending polyrhythm that suddenly changes slowly and has little hiccups and disruptions to the process.” Devonte Hynes, “The Long Ride II” and “Kids” “He’s someone that’s been such a great influence to me throughout my life and a huge inspiration as well as a mentor through the years. Thank you for everything, your work has deeply inspired my work—these two pieces in particular.” Alexandra Stréliski, “Bourrasques” “In French ‘Bourrasques’ means a strong blow of wind. And I wrote it in a moment where I was listening a lot to the soundtrack of The Hours [scored by Glass]. And I was fascinated by how you can create such complex human emotion by repeating a few notes incessantly. Mr Glass, I want to deeply thank you for opening such doors in my inspiration.” Dustin O’Halloran, “Opus 55” “It’s really an interplay between using two chords against each other in a rhythmic sense that creates harmony between, without using a lead harmony. That was something that he really worked with a lot that I really appreciated.” Dustin O’Halloran, “Fine” “This is a really early piece of mine that I re-recorded for [2021 album] Silfur. It’s really a nod to his work on how you can work with arpeggios and stacking them against each other and creating harmony and dissonance and movement. I think he really took counterpoint to another level and that’s always had a big influence on me.” A. R. Rahman, “The Oracle” and “Bombay Theme” “People like me get inspired by the humble life of Mr Glass. He was driving a cab [while composing during the ’70s]. He was persistent. He had people storming against him, against his style of simplicity and minimalistic music. His resilience and the way he believed in himself and the style—that inspires me the most. When you break away from the cliché or tradition that’s been there before, having a thought process of creating something unique, you always get resistance. I think it’s happened to my life so I can relate to that.” Poppy Ackroyd, “Release” and “Murmurations” “I’d like to thank him for his work and for his part in paving the way for composers such as myself who also play with minimalist styles and repetitive structures. In both these pieces, repeated rhythmic figures gradually change and develop with simple hidden melodies. Everything is constantly changing and evolving, finally ending up somewhere more driving and energetic.”