Symphony: Bowie (Breaking) Glass - The Symphonic Experience To Debut In Copenhagen
- Details
- Category: Fine Arts, Dance, Symphony
- Published on Friday, 13 November 2026 11:54
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
Schirmer Theatrical, part of Wise Music Group, and Østre Gasværk Teater confirmed the debut of BOWIE (breaking) GLASS, a landmark concert production bringing David Bowie's iconic songs and voice together with the distinctive musical language of Philip Glass.
Tickets for the Copenhagen premiere, of this bold new symphonic and visual experience, are on sale now HERE.
The 90-minute concert experience will feature Bowie's original recordings alongside live vocalists, musicians and orchestra, with beloved songs including "Space Oddity," "Let's Dance" and "Life on Mars?" heard like never before. With new arrangements by Paul Leonard-Morgan, a longtime collaborator of Philip Glass, and a striking projection design utilizing the Bowie archives, BOWIE (breaking) GLASS creates a dynamic visual world around the music of two visionary artists. It will see its world premiere at Østre Gasværk Teater in Copenhagen from May 7-15, 2027, featuring the Copenhagen Philharmonic, before embarking on a global tour.
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Philip Glass says, "I first met David in the 1970's. He was an extremely gifted and interesting person and musician. I am grateful for the friendship and working relationship we had. In the years since he passed, there have been all kinds of tributes to David and his work, but not many orchestral interpretations. I am pleased to know that this symphonic experience will show our work in a new perspective."
BOWIE (breaking) GLASS explores the creative relationship between two musical visionaries who found a way into each other's work decades ago. Glass heard another musical architecture in Bowie's music, resulting in his symphonic responses to Low, "Heroes" and Lodger.
Beginning in 2027—a year that would have marked Bowie's 80th birthday, as Glass celebrates his 90th—this artistic exchange will come to life again in an extraordinary new form.
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Built around Bowie's songs, voice and archival recordings, the live concert production fuses Bowie's music with Glass's musical language of repetition, structure and transformation fracturing—reassembling and reimagining it. Musically and visually, new dimensions are revealed within familiar and beloved material.
Betsey Perlmutter, Senior Vice President and Head of Schirmer Theatrical notes, "BOWIE (breaking) GLASS explores something genuinely new in the space between these two iconic, visionary artists. It is exactly the kind of ambitious live work Schirmer Theatrical is proud to develop and bring to the world: work that requires deep trust and creative collaboration among exceptional partners."
"David Bowie and Philip Glass are two artists who have both expanded our understanding of what music can be. Bringing their artistic worlds together at Østre Gasværk Teater – with Copenhagen Phil and the creative possibilities of TheatreMax® – is an extraordinary privilege. We are immensely proud to co-produce this new work and to create its world premiere in Copenhagen," says Søren Moller, the Artistic Director of Østre Gasværk Teater.
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"David Bowie shaped and influenced popular music through endless reinvention, and exploring his iconic songs through the lens of Philip Glass in a live symphonic setting is truly special," adds Ashley Winton, SVP, Global Creative Services, Warner Chappell Music. "We are proud to partner with Schirmer Theatrical and Østre Gasværk Teater on BOWIE (breaking) GLASS, and we look forward to fans around the world connecting with this production on its global tour."
Following the premiere the production will travel internationally, bringing the experience to major theatres, concert halls and performing arts venues around the world.
Additional cities and dates to be announced.
ABOUT SCHIRMER THEATRICAL
Schirmer Theatrical (part of Wise Music Group) is a creative producer at the intersection of music, theater and technology—where legacy meets reinvention—shaping and transforming iconic artist catalogues into immersive, contemporary performance experiences for international stages. With a focus on multidisciplinary creation, Schirmer Theatrical develops new symphonic experiences, theatrical concerts and experiential productions that expand how audiences encounter music. Their creative projects are rooted in collaboration, bringing together top performers, composers, choreographers, directors, visual artists, orchestras, movie studios and creative partners. Schirmer Theatrical honors artistic legacy while pushing performance forward, resulting in globally scalable productions that redefine musical storytelling as immersive, collaborative and alive.
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ABOUT DAVID BOWIE
David Bowie (1947-2016) revolutionized popular music and culture through five decades of fearless experimentation and reinvention.
Between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, Bowie pioneered multi-media performance art while recording groundbreaking albums including Space Oddity (1969), The Man Who Sold The World (1970), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), and Station to Station (1976). His single "Fame" from Young Americans became his first US No. 1 hit.
In 1976, Bowie relocated to Berlin, where he collaborated with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti on the influential "Berlin Trilogy": Low(1977), "Heroes" (1977), and Lodger (1979). In 1979 and 1980, he made his Broadway debut in The Elephant Man and released Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) with Visconti, followed by the Nile Rodgers-produced Let's Dance (1983).
Throughout the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Bowie formed the band Tin Machine, collaborated with dance company La La La Human Steps, and composed music for Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). In 1992, he created Jump, one of rock's first CD-ROMs (Enhanced CD). Reuniting with Eno in 1995, he produced the experimental Outside, followed by Earthling (1997) and 'hours...' (1999). That same year, he was honored as Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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In 2002, Bowie collaborated again with Tony Visconti on Heathen, performing the album in full alongside the seminal Low during European and American tours. Reality followed in 2003, launched with the world's largest interactive live-by-satellite event, followed by the critically acclaimed "A Reality Tour."
Bowie's film credits include iconic roles in Nic Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983), and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006).
In May 2007, he curated the inaugural 10-day High Line Festival in New York. The following month, he received the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering the intersection of art and technology. Later that year, he starred as himself in an acclaimed episode of Ricky Gervais's HBO series Extras.
In 2012, a plaque was erected on Heddon Street, London, the site of the Ziggy Stardust album cover, commemorating his extraordinary influence. The following year, the Victoria and Albert Museum received unprecedented access to the David Bowie Archive for a groundbreaking exhibition that broke attendance records in London, the US, Berlin, and Paris.
On January 8, 2013, Bowie surprised the world by releasing "Where Are We Now?" and announcing The Next Day, his 27th studio album and first in 10 years. The album received universal critical acclaim. In 2014, the compilation Nothing Has Changed celebrated his 50th year in music, followed by the experimental "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" with the Maria Schneider Orchestra and "Tis a Pity She Was a Whore."
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Spring 2015 brought Lazarus, an off-Broadway production co-created with playwright Enda Walsh and directed by Ivo van Hove, which later transferred to London's Kings Cross Theatre.
★ (Blackstar), Bowie's 28th studio album, was released on his 69th birthday, January 8, 2016. Co-produced with Visconti and featuring saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his quartet, ★ received overwhelming critical acclaim, among the best reviews of Bowie's entire career. It became his first album to reach No. 1 in the US, topped charts in over 20 countries, and later won five Grammy Awards.
On January 10, 2016, David Bowie died peacefully, surrounded by his family, after an 18-month battle with cancer. His body of work, multi-generational influence, and legacy of fearless innovation and endless reinvention continue to inspire artists and audiences worldwide.
The David Bowie Estate proudly welcomes Bowie (breaking) Glass to its recently announced BOWIE80, a celebration throughout 2027 of David's 80th birthday with special events, product releases, collaborations, and fan experiences all over the globe, recognizing his influence across art, music and culture.
ABOUT PHILIP GLASS
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School. By 1974, Glass had created a large collection of music for The Philip Glass Ensemble. The period culminated in the landmark opera, Einstein on the Beach. Since Einstein, Glass's repertoire has grown to include music for opera, dance, theater, orchestra, and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations (Kundun, The Hours, Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show). Recent works include Glass' first Piano Sonata, opera Circus Days and Nights and Symphony No. 15. Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the U.S. National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, the 41th Kennedy Center Honors in 2018, and the GRAMMY Trustee's
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Award in 2020. Glass celebrates his 90th Birthday in 2027 with a multi-season, global celebration.
ABOUT PAUL LEONARD-MORGAN
Award-winning composer Paul Leonard-Morgan has written music for the concert hall, the theater, the screen and worked with pop and rock bands. With a degree from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and a punk rock heart, he embodies the skill and versatility of a 21st century composer.
One of the most notable contemporary soundtrack composers, he's in demand for his seamless use of the orchestra with electronics. Writing music for a variety of visual media, his credits include collaborations with composer Philip Glass for The Green Veil, Tales from the Loop, and The Pigeon Tunnel; the films Limitless, Boston Strangler, Best Sellers, Dredd, and Last Breath; director Errol Morris' Wormwood and American Dharma; and the video game Cyberpunk 2077. He has garnered a BAFTA award and Emmy, Ivor Novello, and World Soundtrack Award nominations.
As a producer and arranger, he has collaborated with Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Snow Patrol, No Doubt, and Isobel Campbell.
Scottish by birth and upbringing, Leonard-Morgan's classical works reflect the musical and poetic traditions of his home and include commissions from the National
Theatre/Edinburgh International Festival (Rona Munro's plays James I, II & IV), the Inter-Celtic Festival (Celtic Concerto), and a suite from his score (BBC's A History of Scotland) toured and was performed by BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Proms in The Park.
The National Ballet of Canada premiered his first ballet (Atmosphere) in 2026 while recent album releases include Etudes for Piano and Cello and Delusions, a work for chamber orchestra featuring poet Len Pennie which premiered at the 2026 Edinburgh Book Festival.
ABOUT ØSTRE GASVÆRK TEATER
Østre Gasværk Teater is Copenhagen's main scene for bold, inventive music theatre. Housed in a spectacular former gas holder, it combines live performance with panoramic imagery and spatial sound through its signature TheatreMax® technology. Its productions include the world premiere production of Another Brick in the Wall, Part 5 and Sting's The Last Ship, alongside ambitious new musicals. Here, raw industrial architecture meets artistic adventure, creating an experience that fills the senses and stays with you long after you have left.
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ABOUT WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC
Warner Chappell Music, the global music publishing company of Warner Music Group, is home to a wide array of legendary songwriters and a rich catalog of contemporary hits and influential standards. With offices in more than 25 countries, Warner Chappell provides deep expertise across a range of creative services and the most innovative opportunities for songwriters and copyright holders. Warner Chappell, which has a history dating back more than 200 years, currently publishes and administers music from A-Lin, Amy Allen, Angèle, Anderson .Paak, Aya Nakamura, Benson Boone, Celeste, Cole Porter, Coco Jones, Dave, David Bowie, David Tao, Dua Lipa, Duran Duran, Fraser T. Smith, Gamble and Huff, Gene Autry Music Group catalog, George Gershwin, George Michael, Grateful Dead, Hilary Duff, Juanes, Kacey Musgraves, Katy Perry, Kool & the Gang, Laufey, Led Zeppelin, Lin Xi, Lizzo, Lykee Li, Madonna, Marco Antonio Solís, Mitski, Morgan Wallen, Oscar Holter, Pablo Alborán, Quevedo, Quincy Jones, RAYE, ROSÉ, Saweetie, Shirin David, Stormzy, Summer Walker, Teddy Swims, Tom Petty Catalog, Tones and I, WeiBird, Wyman Wong, Young Miko, Zach Bryan, and 831, among many others.
