''Solo Piano'' (1989) is an album of piano music composed and performed 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 was produced by Kurt Munkacsi. The title of five of the seven tracks, "Metamorphosis", refers to and was inspired by the 1915 novella ''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

'' by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

. While all pieces were written in 1988, some were written for a staging of ''Metamorphosis'', while others were for the 1988 documentary film '' The Thin Blue Line'' directed by

Errol Morris Errol Mark Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of its subjects. In 2003, his documentary film '' The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara ...

. "Mad Rush" was written in 1979 and is based on an earlier organ piece; it has been used by choreographers

Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer/ choreographer and actress. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest mov ...

and

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

. The title of the last composition is a reference to

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

's 1966 poem "

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", and was composed, in collaboration with Ginsberg, for both a reading and recording of the poem. "Metamorphosis One" is played in an episode of ''

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'' by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Within the narrative, her father composed and performed the piece. It is also played in the series finale of ''

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'', ''Return 0''. "Metamorphosis Two" formed the basis of one of the main musical themes in the film '' The Hours''. It is also the song that the American rock band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

uses as their introduction music to concerts. Many pianists have recorded this music subsequently, notably

Bruce Brubaker Bruce Brubaker is a musician, artist, concert pianist, and writer from the United States. Concepts Brubaker's work uses and combines Western classical music with postmodern artistic, literary, theatrical, and philosophical ideas. He is associat ...

Sally Whitwell Sally Whitwell (born 1974) is an Australian classical music pianist, composer, arranger, conductor and teacher. She has released four solo albums, ''Mad Rush: Piano Music of Philip Glass'' (3 June 2011), ''The Good, the Bad and the Awkward'' (18 ...

, Lisa Moore, and

Valentina Lisitsa Valentina Lisitsa, ; russian: Валентина Евгеньевна Лисица, translit=Valentina Evgen'evna Lisica, ) (born 25 March 1970) is a Ukrainian-American pianist. Lisitsa independently launched her career on social media, without ...

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Philip Glass. #"Metamorphosis One" – 5:41 #"Metamorphosis Two" – 7:22 #"Metamorphosis Three" – 5:33 #"Metamorphosis Four" – 7:01 #"Metamorphosis Five" – 5:10 #"Mad Rush" – 13:48 #"Wichita Vortex Sutra" – 6:53

References

1989 albums Compositions by Philip Glass Philip Glass albums {{1980s-album-stub