Since it was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1976, Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s Einstein on the Beach has become widely regarded as the cornerstone work of the American Avant Garde, and one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century.
At the beginning of the final act, set against Glass’s sonic masterpiece, a single horizontal light bar rises until fully vertical, and then floats out of the frame. This is the moment that Wilson and Glass chose to tokenize as the first NFT of Bright Moments icon series.
L I V E E X H I B I T I O N
Kraftwerk, Berlin
April 6, 8, 9, 1, 15, 16, 17, 10, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23
21:45 every night
Einstein was like nothing I had ever encountered. For me, its very elusiveness radiated richly, like some dark star whose effects we can only feel. The synergy of words and music seemed ideal...Einstein on the Beach, perhaps, like Einstein himself, transcended time. It’s not (just) an artifact of its era, it’s timeless... Einstein must be seen and re-seen, encountered and savored...an experience to cherish for a lifetime.
Some works of art become mythical, either because they are so important or because few people actually know them. “Einstein on the Beach,” the 1976 intermissionless four-and-a-half-hour opera by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass, qualifies on both counts.
John Rockwell, Art Critic for The New York Times.