Glass: A Portrait Of Philip In Twelve Parts is an insight into every aspect of the world’s most respected contemporary classical composer. Glass demonstrates musical genius that will finally give opera the public sight it deserves. This documentary is a rare chance to witness the creation of music from a man who is seen by many as the greatest composer of our times.

Scott Hicks’ documentary is unusually honest as the whole Glass family narrate their own lives for the audience. There are no hidden corners, no curtains drawn over family secrets. The documentary explores the 72–year–old composer’s life as he writes his eighth opera.  Glass has treated this documentary as an opportunity for him to make classical music more understandable and approachable for the audience. This has created a completely fresh documentary experience; one that is exceedingly personal.

Through Glass’s operas, symphonies, compositions for his own ensemble and his wide ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, and Woody Allen to David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his time. This documentary sees this process of creation and many other facets of his life that are reflected by him in the prism of the present.