''Symphony No. 6'', also known as the ''Plutonian Ode Symphony'', is a symphony composed by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. It is based on the poem ''

Plutonian Ode "Plutonian Ode" is a poem written by American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1978 against the arms race and nuclear armament of the superpowers. It is heavily inspired by Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'ha ...

'' by Allen Ginsberg, parts of which are sung by the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

soloist in the work. The symphony was commissioned by

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in honor of Glass' 65th birthday and as a vehicle for the talents of soprano Lauren Flanigan. The symphony premiered on February 2, 2002, at Carnegie Hall with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the

American Composers Orchestra The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at ...

. The symphony is in three movements, based on the three parts of the poem itself.

References

06 Philip Glass albums 2002 compositions Glass 06 Music commissioned by Carnegie Hall {{symphony-stub