Philip Glass's "Einstein On The Beach" (or, A Masterpiece of Minimalism)

I first encountered Philip Glass a couple of years back while on a MEGA David Bowie kick, as Glass's 1st and 4th symphonies are arrangements of tracks from two of my favorite Bowie albums (Low and "Heroes"). While I'm immensely impressed with how Glass took Bowie's music and, without changing its spirit, managed to completely manipulate it's body, I was much more impressed by his classic opera Einstein On The Beach. Before we go any further, let's take a brief listen. (I'd play the whole thing for you, but it is five hours and you have finals you ought to be studying for).

The progressions take forever to move through, the voices counting are odd and sometimes even clash with each other, and it is incredibly repetitive. Later, bits of poetry will be overlapped and, once in a while, the instrumentation varies, but, truly this is the basic idea. To some it may seem like torture, but, in my opinion, uninterrupted listening to it is tantamount to meditation (a sentiment which the book echoes). The work definitely embodies minimalism as described in the book: "tonality and melody are usually simple, while rhythms and textures, built through minute repetition, are dense and complex."

Einstein On The Beach was the complete opposite of the definition of opera. There is no story being told throughout. There are no characters to watch develop and play out their fates. There is nothing but the tones, the instrument, and the voices. In my opinion though, this creates just as compelling of an image as any beautifully and traditionally operatic work could. If you're willing to let go of the common definition of music and realize that there is more to art than being entertained sometimes and that a feeling can be worth spending a couple of hours alone with a piece of music, Einstein On The Beach is a unique and rewarding piece of music.