Philip Glass

Philip Morris Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer. He is considered one of the most influential music makers of the late 20th century. His music is also often controversially described as minimal music, along with the work of the other "major minimalists" La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich.
Glass has distanced himself from the "minimalist" label, describing himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures". Though his early mature music shares much with what is normally called "minimalist", he has since evolved stylistically. Currently, he describes himself as a "classicist", pointing out that he is trained in harmony and counterpoint and studied such composers as Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Nadia Boulanger.
== Tossup Questions ==
# This composer was instrumental in the relocation from Paris of the Mabou Mines theater company, for whom he wrote Music for Voices as well as a string quartet accompanying a performance of Samuel Beckett's Company. This composer attempted to popularize his work with a six-movement chamber composition including movements titled "Floe," "Island," and "Rubric." He wrote for a characteristic ensemble of four saxophones, two flutes, three electric organs, and female voice with his Music in Twelve Parts. This composer scored Martin Scorsese's Kundun as well as a film directed by Godfrey Reggio whose title is a Hopi word meaning "life out of balance." For 10 points, name this minimalist composer of Koyaanisqatsi also known for such operas as Einstein on the Beach.
# An opera by this composer ends with an aria by the tenor lead, consisting entirely of thirty repetitions of an ascending Phrygian scale. In another opera by this composer, the countertenor lead sings a second-act hymn beginning "Thou dost appear beautiful," and an offstage chorus quotes Psalm 104. At the start of another of his operas, a white square in the lower-right corner of the stage highlights two people seated at desks. That opera has a solo violinist dressed as the (*) title character and includes a chorus that counts beats and sings solfège syllables. This composer's collaboration with Robert Wilson has scenes like "Train," "Trial," and "Spaceship" spaced between five knee plays. For 10 points, name this minimalist composer of Akhnaten, Satyagraha, and Einstein on the Beach.
# This composer based his third string quartet on his score for the Paul Schrader film Mishima, while his "Low" and "Heroes" symphonies are based on David Bowie albums. This composer has frequently collaborated with the set designer Robert Wilson. Katsurbai and Mrs. Naidoo praise those who "work not seeking gain" in an opera by this man which partly takes place at the Tolstoy Farm and often utilizes chanting in Sanskrit. "Trial" and "Train" are acts in another of this composer's operas, which contains five knee plays and is named after a German physicist. For 10 points, name this minimalist composer whose Portrait Trilogy includes Satyagraha and Einstein on the Beach.