Olympian: Lighting of the Torch and Closing

1984

Info

5′

Music by Philip Glass.
Published by Dunvagen Music Publishers.

Commission

Commissioned by the 1984 Olympic Committee for the Opening of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Instrumentation

3.0.2.bcl.2/4.3.4.1/perc (SD, BD, tgl, cymb, t.bells)/str/(SATB Chorus optional)

Premiere

1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Notes

I can think of no event to compare with the Olympic games which makes us so conscious of our shared humanity, our common fate. The torch-lighting ceremony strikes me as the essential symbol, the summing up, of this, our shared consciousness. Surely it is a rare event in the life of any artist when he is asked to make a personal contribution to such a public event. It has made this for me a uniquely challenging and inspiring experience.
— Philip Glass

Scores

The Olympian – Lighting of the Torch and Closing at Wise Music classical