The Concerto Project

Philip Glass wrote all of the concerti on commission from various ensembles or people; the Concerto Fantasy, for example, was requested by Jonathan Haas, a respected timpanist.

Glass stated in 2000: "Jonathan Haas approached me almost ten years ago with an invitation to write a Timpani Concerto for him.

"[1] Similarly, the Cello Concerto was commissioned by friends of Glass, William and Rebecca Kreuger, for the fiftieth birthday of renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, who later premiered the piece in Beijing.

These concerti are therefore a high-point of Glass' classical direction: they demonstrate a distinct combination of Postmodernist methods and older, more conventional repertoire (incidentally, Glass' favorite composer is Schubert, whose Classical-Romantic bridging can be heard as a considerable influence on the contemporary composer's stylistic moves).

[citation needed] This stray from uncompromising adherence to Glass' branch of minimalism can possibly be interpreted[original research?]