The Philip Glass Ensemble - Glassworks / Eraly works | Compensa, Vilnius

One of the most important ensembles in the history of minimalist music, the legendary Philip Glass Ensemble (PGE), returns to Vilnius on April 6, 2027. At the “Compensa” Concert Hall, the ensemble will perform “Glassworks” – but this will be only the first part of an exceptional evening. The programme will continue with music from “Koyaanisqatsi”, “Einstein on the Beach”, “Akhnaten” and “Satyagraha” – works that have become inseparable from Philip Glass’s creative legacy and the cultural history of the 20th century.

The Philip Glass Ensemble was founded by Philip Glass himself in New York in 1968. Initially conceived as a creative laboratory for the composer’s work, over more than five decades PGE has become far more than an ensemble performing Glass’s music: it is the foremost interpreter of his musical language. This is particularly significant when experiencing music built around repeating structures, pulsating rhythms, electronic instruments and gradually evolving layers of sound.

This year’s PGE programme promises considerably more than “Glassworks”. At the ensemble’s most recently documented full concert in Toronto this June, the complete “Glassworks” was followed by “Confrontation and Rescue” from “Satyagraha”, “The Grid” from the cult film “Koyaanisqatsi”, “Dance 1” from “Einstein on the Beach”, “Funeral” from “Akhnaten” and “Spaceship” from “Einstein on the Beach”. This “Glassworks / Early Works” programme is touring Europe this year and will reach Vilnius in September.

This means that “Glassworks” will be only the gateway into a much larger Philip Glass universe. The audience will hear “The Grid” from “Koyaanisqatsi”, one of the most important results of Glass’s collaboration with director Godfrey Reggio. The programme will also feature music from “Einstein on the Beach”, the 1976 opera created with Robert Wilson that radically transformed the concept of contemporary opera. “Funeral” from “Akhnaten” will represent Glass’s monumental operatic work, while “Confrontation and Rescue” from “Satyagraha” will showcase another of his major stage works.

This is why the evening is about far more than simply hearing “Glassworks”. It is a concentrated journey through several of the most important worlds of Philip Glass’s music – from film and opera to radical minimalist experimentation. And all of it will be performed by the ensemble Glass himself founded to bring his music to life.

PGE has performed in Lithuania before and this time the ensemble arrives with a programme that offers a much broader view of Glass’s work than a single familiar composition. “Glassworks”, “Koyaanisqatsi”, “Einstein on the Beach”, “Akhnaten” and “Satyagraha” in one evening – a programme whose scale goes far beyond a conventional concert dedicated to a single composer.

For more than half a century, the Philip Glass Ensemble has been part of this music’s history. On April 6, that history can be heard – and experienced – live in Vilnius.

PHILIP GLASS ENSEMBLE – GLASSWORKS / EARLY WORKS
April 6, 2027 | “Compensa” Concert Hall, Vilnius