Philip Glass is the consummate late bloomer, working as a cabby and a plumber well into his forties before the music world took notice enough to pay his fare. Today, at seventy-five, he's the most famous living "classical" composer, whose enviable output has given us both a little and a lot. Tonight, he'll celebrate his 75th by playing his latest symphony (No. 9) at Carnegie Hall. Check out NPR's interview with Glass, here, and tune in and zone out to some of our favorite Philip Glass moments, below. Happy birthday, Phil.
Stream: Music in Twelve Parts, Part 1 (1971–1974)
Stream: Einstein on the Beach, Knee Play 5 (1976)
Stream: "Geometry of Circles" for Sesame Street (1979)
Stream: Dance, Choreography by Lucinda Childs, Set design/film by Sol LeWitt (1979)
Stream: Satyagraha, Act 1 "Tolstoy Farm" (1980)
Stream: Koyaanisqatsi film by Godfrey Reggio (1982)
Stream: String Quartet No. 3, (Mishima) Performed by Kronos Quartet (1984)
Stream: Passages composed with Ravi Shankar (1990)
Stream: Etude No. 5 & 6 (2003)
Stream: Symphony No. 1 ("Low") , Part 1 "Subterraneans" (based on David Bowie & Brian Eno's 1977 album Low) (1992)
Stream: The Hours, "Dead Things" Performed by Michael Riesman (2004)
Symphony No. 9! (2012)
