Philip Glass Ensemble: Early Works
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 7:30PM
Matthews Theatre
The Philip Glass Ensemble (PGE), founded in 1968, is the original performing group dedicated to the music of groundbreaking composer Philip Glass. Conceived as a laboratory for his evolving sound, the Ensemble became the birthplace of many of Glass’ most influential works, including the marathon masterpiece Music in Twelve Parts and the iconic score for the Koyaanisqatsi trilogy. For more than 55 years, the PGE has brought Glass’s singular sound to the world’s most prestigious stages—from Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl to London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
Early Works revisits the roots of Glass’s musical language. This celebratory program features selections from the cult-favorite Glassworks album, the groundbreaking opera Einstein on the Beach, and other seminal compositions. It offers an immersive journey through the pulse, repetition, and energy that define Glass’s early style. Each work in the program was composed specifically for—and remains performed exclusively by—the Philip Glass Ensemble.
From the Desk of Paula Abreu
We are delighted to welcome the Philip Glass Ensemble back to McCarter for Early Works, a program revisiting the roots of Glass’s signature style with selections from Einstein on the Beach, Glassworks, and other seminal pieces composed specifically for the Ensemble. These early works, written between 1974 and 1984, were crucial in shaping the minimalist music movement, featuring hypnotic repetition, gradual variation, and distinctive instrumental combinations.
Founded by Philip Glass in 1968, the Ensemble serves as both a creative laboratory and a home for his music, developing the techniques and performance practices required by his groundbreaking compositions. Under longtime music director Michael Riesman, the Ensemble continues to bring Glass’s early works to life with unmatched authenticity and energy.
Glass first appeared at McCarter in solo piano evenings in 1986 and 1989, along with the Ensemble. In 1992, McCarter premiered a major international event—a revival of the Robert Wilson and Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach prior to its world tour. This landmark production, one of my predecessor Bill Lockwood’s proudest achievements, remains the largest and most ambitious in McCarter’s history and one of the major musical-theatrical achievements of our time.
We are thrilled to welcome the Philip Glass Ensemble back for this rare and unforgettable program. Sometimes meditative, sometimes joyously frenetic, it is always music of haunting and fluid beauty.
Paula Abreu
Director of Presented Programming, William Lockwood, Jr. Chair