Phillip Glass - Einstein on the Beach (1975)
Knee 5
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Einstein on the Beach
Nerd Stuff
Einstein on the Beach is an opera composed by Phillip Glass and originally directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. The basic idea of the opera was to portray Einstein as an incredible historical figure. However, what made this portrayal unique and interesting was their decision to not have a distinct plot. Rather, they used recognizable symbols from Einstein's life throughout the opera to get the audience a sense of some theme. The music that the audience begins to associate with Einstein follows a circular formula (both additive and subtractive) that constantly is on the edge of resolution, but almost never resolves. The opera is structured in four acts. Before each act, and after the final there comes a Knee Play. The Knee portion of the title is referring to a human knee. The joint in the knee joins the two major portions of the leg. The knee plays in this opera act not only as dividers but also as connections between larger sections. Right now you are listening to Knee 5, the final, and conclusive, knee play.
Minimalism
Phillip Glass is widely credited with being one of the founders of minimal music. Minimal music is music written with the intention of simplicity. Everything is broken down into its most basic form and, in the case of Glass, repeated in a non-narrative style. There are many subcategories of minimalism and Glass is his own. As a young man Glass studied Mathematics which appears to have influenced his compositions later in life. Many of the repeating patterns seem mathematical and are sometimes even derived from a mathematical formula or concept. Glass is known for his wavelike structure, where every short idea rises and falls and then repeats. In Einstein on the Beach, a key idea that Glass uses is suspense. He rarely resolves chords, making the resolutions, when they finally arrive, even more satisfying.
My experience with Glass
I first encountered glass in a string orchestra when I was in sixth grade; we played one of his movie scores. To be completely honest, I was bored out of my mind. To me, it seemed that we would repeat one idea for a minute, and switch to another. The process repeated for all ten or so minutes of the piece, and then it was over. We would stand up, bow, and move on to the next piece. I didn't enjoy Glass because I didn't understand it. I had no idea what I was listening to and so I assumed it was as boring as it looked on the page of sheet music.
This all changed after I began to understand basic music theory. To put it simply, in music there are chords that you can create. Depending on the key, these chords have different functions. Some feel conclusive (tonic), some feel leading (pre-dominant), and some feel like they want to conclude back to the tonic (dominant). For almost the entirety of much of Glass's music, he stays in a pre-dominant and dominant tonal area. Understanding this causes the listener to anticipate. Going back to Einstein on the beach, throughout the whole eight minute Knee 5 there is some sense of unease that is only resolved at the end. This is the magic of Glass. The final release of tension is something that I know to look forward to throughout a piece by him. From a little bit of knowledge I am now able to enjoy a style that seemed boring to me previously, and more importantly, I know that in almost every composition there is a reason for why things are done. If I understand the reason, I understand the intention, and thus I understand how I can enjoy it.
Extra
If you want to listen to another movement of Einstein on the Beach that has a completely different feel, I would highly recommend Spaceship. In spaceship, it is exceptionally easy to feel the tension throughout the piece and the final resolution at the end. Happy listening!
My experience with Glass
I first encountered glass in a string orchestra when I was in sixth grade; we played one of his movie scores. To be completely honest, I was bored out of my mind. To me, it seemed that we would repeat one idea for a minute, and switch to another. The process repeated for all ten or so minutes of the piece, and then it was over. We would stand up, bow, and move on to the next piece. I didn't enjoy Glass because I didn't understand it. I had no idea what I was listening to and so I assumed it was as boring as it looked on the page of sheet music.
This all changed after I began to understand basic music theory. To put it simply, in music there are chords that you can create. Depending on the key, these chords have different functions. Some feel conclusive (tonic), some feel leading (pre-dominant), and some feel like they want to conclude back to the tonic (dominant). For almost the entirety of much of Glass's music, he stays in a pre-dominant and dominant tonal area. Understanding this causes the listener to anticipate. Going back to Einstein on the beach, throughout the whole eight minute Knee 5 there is some sense of unease that is only resolved at the end. This is the magic of Glass. The final release of tension is something that I know to look forward to throughout a piece by him. From a little bit of knowledge I am now able to enjoy a style that seemed boring to me previously, and more importantly, I know that in almost every composition there is a reason for why things are done. If I understand the reason, I understand the intention, and thus I understand how I can enjoy it.
Extra
If you want to listen to another movement of Einstein on the Beach that has a completely different feel, I would highly recommend Spaceship. In spaceship, it is exceptionally easy to feel the tension throughout the piece and the final resolution at the end. Happy listening!
So interesting! My mom is a Phillip Glass fan, but I'm not very familiar with his music. I enjoyed listening to this piece from the final Knee Play. I found it strangely soothing, in spite of the fact for most of it there are two different voices (or sets of voices) competing more than they seem to be blending. I was reminded that I'm somewhat familiar with Robert Wilson because my mom has the album of David Byrne's music for the Knee Plays from Wilson's (I guess opera?) The Civil Wars, an album I listened to quite a bit when I myself was in high school. It's worth a listen, especially if you like Byrne and/or his work with the Talking Heads. This Knee Play from Einstein on the Beach (especially the end where the male voice is speaking) reminds me of Byrne's Knee Plays, as Byrne uses spoken word in most of them (or maybe all, can't recall).
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I know nothing about music theory, but I understand your explanation of why you like Glass pretty well. You said you used to think it was boring—understandably so since even going by the name minimalism there probably isn't much going on—but I think the simplicity of the music makes it very calming, which is what I like.
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