Philip Glass Details Expansive Lineup of Events for 90th Birthday Celebration
These include world premiere performances of Glass’ Symphony No. 15: Lincoln, and global celebrations across opera, theater, dance, and more.
A multi-season celebration of notable performances and events has been set to coincide with the 90th birthday of acclaimed composer Philip Glass on January 31, 2027. These include world premiere performances of Glass’ Symphony No. 15: Lincoln, and global celebrations across opera, theater, dance, symphony and chamber concerts, film and special performances. Take a look at the lineup below.
Additionally, Orange Mountain Music recently released an EP celebrating Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg’s friendship and long collaborative history. The three-track EP, Allen Ginsberg – One Hundred, includes Magic Psalm (Etude No. 17), a new release for piano and spoken word based on Philip Glass’ original sketch of Etude No. 1. Additional special releases from OMM are to be announced.
Philip Glass musical work spans opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations (Kundun, The Hours, Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show). Glass’s memoir Words Without Music was published by Liveright Books in 2015. Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the U.S. National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, and the 41st Kennedy Center Honors in 2018. Philip Glass Solo, his most recent album, came out in January 2024. Further recent works include a circus opera, Circus Days and Nights, Prelude pour Orgue written for the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris, FR, and Symphony No. 15.
World Premiere of Glass’ Symphony No. 15: Lincoln
Glass’ Symphony No. 15: Lincoln, based on a collection of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and letters, will receive its world premiere in Boston on July 5, 2026 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood with subsequent premieres worldwide: West Coast Premiere July 31, 2026 at the Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz, CA; Virginia Premiere September 25-27, 2026 by the Virginia Symphony in Newport News, VA; and in 2027, the New York Premiere January 31, 2027 by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall; the UK Premiere January 31, 2027 at the Southbank Centre; the Los Angeles premiere March 12-13, 2027 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall; and the Baltimore premiere June 4-6, 2027 by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Additional performance dates to be announced.
Glass’s symphony for baritone and orchestra completes his long history of exploration of historical figures, bringing timely themes and lessons from Abraham Lincoln to the modern day for his symphony. It was initially slated to debut at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in June.
50th Anniversary of Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach, Glass and the late Bob Wilson’s work for theater, will celebrate 50 years in 2026. Held in memory of Wilson, the celebration will include a worldwide concert tour from the Philip Glass Ensemble with dates to be announced; a European concert tour from ICTUS, Collegium Vocale Gent and Suzanne Vega in May and September, 2026; a new experiential production created by English National Opera, Factory International, Park Avenue Armory and Improbable, directed by Phelim McDermott, to premiere June 2027 at Aviva Studios, Manchester, UK; and more special moments to be announced.
Created by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass in 1976, the original production premiered at the Avignon Festival on July 25, 1976, causing a rave of discourse about upending conventions of score, plot and staging wherever it went on its initial tour across Europe. In a watershed cultural moment, the opera arrived at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in November 1976.
Opera and Theater Events
Glass’ operas will receive revivals and new productions across the U.S. and Europe, including a concert production of Akhnaten at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands on June 6, 2026 and Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed Akhnaten production returning to Berlin in January 2027. An excerpt from Akhnaten will also be performed as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Diamond Jubilee on May 25, 2027.
The “Cocteau Trilogy” of operas—Orphée, Les Enfants Terribles, and La Belle et la Bête—receive new productions worldwide, including La Belle et la Bête in Augsburg, Germany May 23, 2026-January 7, 2027, and Paris, France February 3-11, 2027, and a two-piano version of the Trilogy with Katia & Marielle Labeques touring throughout 2027.
Two rarely performed Glass works will receive new productions: Waiting for the Barbarians in its first revival since its 2005 premiere with performances in the Netherlands September 26-October 31, 2026, and The Juniper Tree in its Chicago, IL premiere with the Chicago Opera Theater May 19-23, 2027.
Tao of Glass, Glass and Phelim McDermott’s 2019 collaboration, will have its London West End premiere with performances July 25-September 12, 2026.
Symphonic Events
Special symphonic programs celebrating Philip’s 90th Birthday include multiple all-Glass events, starting June 5-6, 2026 at NCH Dublin Ireland with the NSO Ireland conducted by Dennis Russell Davies; January 31, 2027 at Carnegie Hall with Orchestra of St. Luke’s conducted by Dennis Russell Davies; a multi-day celebration on January 30 and 31, 2027 at the Southbank Centre with performances of Symphony No. 15, Music in 12 Parts, and more; the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Dennis Russell Davies February 11-13, 2027; the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra led by Anne Manson February 18-24, 2027; and the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Anna Handler March 12-13, 2027.
Glass’ seminal work Violin Concerto No. 1 will receive numerous performances across the U.S. and Europe, including Chicago on August 12, 2026; Paris on October 13, 2026; Miami October 24-25, 2026; Vancouver December 4, 2026; Munich December 16-18, 2026; Charleston January 8-9, 2027; New York on January 31, 2027; Los Angeles March 12-13, 2027; and Aix-en-Provence April 2-4, 2027. Violin Concerto No. 2 will be presented in Stellenbosch, South Africa July 3, 2026 and in Manitoba, Canada February 24, 2027. Symphony No. 1 will be presented by Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by conductor Joe Hisaishi July 10-11, 2026 at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Colorado Symphony led by conductor Peter Oundjian January 21, 2027, and by Malmö Symfoniorkester led by conductor Karen Kamensek January 28, 2027. Glass’ Mishima Concerto arranged by Michael Riesman will receive its Ireland Premiere June 6, 2026 by the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, and Dutch Premiere in The Hague by Residentie Orkest den Haag, October 2, 2026. Symphony No. 6 will be presented by Filharmonie Brno led by Dennis Russell Davies January 14-15, 2027 in Brno, Czechia. Symphony No. 8 will be presented by Japan Century Symphony Orchestra led by Dennis Russel Davies February 19, 2027 in Osaka, Japan.
Chamber/Solo Programs
The Allen Ginsberg Estate celebrates Ginsberg’s Centennial and Philip Glass’ 90th with live performances of Magic Psalm (Etude No.17) in London, UK on July 12, 2026 and Stanford, US on October 30, 2026. Pomegranate Arts will present Glass’ Complete Piano Etudes at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA July 22, 2026, at Performing Arts Houston, TX September 12, 2026, Gaillard Center Charleston, SC November 1, 2026, and with Cal Performances Berkeley, CA November 20, 2026.
The Philip Glass Ensemble performs the seminal work Glassworks in Stockholm and Copenhagen, and a selection of Early Works programs in Toronto, Stockholm, and Copenhagen in 2026. San Francisco Performances will present Philip Glass @ 90, a series of three concerts featuring Glass’ collaborators Timo Andres, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and Kronos Quartet to celebrate Glass’ 90th birthday, January 27-29, 2027. Lavinia Meijer, Feico Deutekom and Cappella Amsterdam present a chamber music and choral evening, Philip Glass 90, on January 30, 2027.
James McVinnie and his ensemble will perform the rare Dance Nos. 1-5 at the Barbican Centre in London, UK on February 3, 2027. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson will tour a 90th birthday tribute solo piano concert in Spring 2027. Maki Namekawa will present an evening of Glass’ solo piano music at the Paris Philharmonie June 7, 2027. Third Coast Percussion will present Ripples in the Water: Philip Glass at 90 on a worldwide tour, featuring TCP’s arrangements of Aguas da Amazonia and Metamorphosis One, performances to be announced.
Dance Programs
Glass’ birthday season dance programming features works from preeminent choreographers and Glass collaborators, including Benjamin Millepied’s new work City of Dance (music: Koyaanisqatsi) with the L.A. Dance Project in Los Angeles June 2-21, 2026, Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot’s Shoot the Moon (music: Tirol Concerto) at the Royal Ballet in London June 11-20, 2026 and Norwegian National Ballet October 9-24, 2026, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room at the Philadelphia Ballet October 15-18, 2026 and the Vienna State Opera March 13-April 5, 2027, Lucinda Childs’ DANCE performances in 26/27 season, Childs’ Distant Figure (music: Passacaglia for Solo Piano) June 26-28, 2026 at Bard SummerScape and Childs’ new choreography Another Look at Harmony Part IV to premiere at New York City Center, January 14-16, 2027, and David Dawson’s Metamorphosis (music: Metamorphosis 1-5) at the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam March 27-April 4, 2027.
Film Events
The Philip Glass Ensemble will tour performing the Qatsi Trilogy Live to Film, celebrating Godfrey Reggio’s seminal Qatsi films—Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqoyqatsi—with live performances of the scores while the films are screened. Powaqqatsi will be presented in Rome September 16, 2026. Koyaanisqatsi will be presented in Minneapolis March 9, 2027 and in Philadelphia, PA April 25, 2027 with additional performances to be announced.
Photo credit: Rebecca Litman
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