John Adams

Having earned his composing stripes after the 1960s, John Adams had the pioneering work of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley close at hand as he ventured into his trade. And, while minimalism's historical continuum helps place Adams, he used Reich, Glass, and Riley (among others) only as a starting point. And here's proof: a 10-CD retrospective of nearly all Adams's recorded compositions on Nonesuch Records, the label that also issued Steve Reich 1965-1995 and Kronos Quartet: 25 Years. Adams's Harmonium, a choral work of startling energy and effervescence, appears here in a new recording, as do distillations of both The Death of Klinghoffer and Nixon in China, two path-clearing operas.

In this new release Peter Oundjian and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra tackle two seminal works by the American composer John Adams. Harmonielehre, a symphony in all but name, is an expansive, richly expressive, and often breathtaking work. It takes its title from a 1911 text by Arnold Schoenberg on harmonic theory and evokes the lush soundworld of that composer’s early tonal period. Also heard throughout the score are echoes of Mahler, Wagner, Strauss, Sibelius, Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky. The piece also takes inspiration from some of Adams’s own strange and surreal dreams. The Doctor Atomic Symphony, based on Adams’s controversial opera Doctor Atomic, focuses on the character of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as preparations are made for the first test of the atomic bomb.

John Adams - Fellow Traveler: The Complete String Quartet Works of John Adams - Attacca Quartet (2013) {Azica ACD-71280}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 337 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 163 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 178 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Azica Records | ACD-71280
Classical / Modern Classical / Chamber Music / Post Minimalism

When it comes to composers broadly categorized under the heading of minimalism, it's rare to find works grouped by genre in the conventional way. But the Attacca Quartet, a young group out of New York's Juilliard School, shows what can be done with this set of three pieces by John Adams, entirely different in tone but clearly the products of the same composer. The best-known work on the program, John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994), has been recorded several times.

Nonesuch Records releases City Noir, comprising the title piece by composer John Adams and the debut recording of his Saxophone Concerto. Both pieces are performed by the St. Louis Symphony led by Music Director David Robertson. Saxophonist Timothy McAllister is featured on both pieces.

Symphony No. 10 is the tenth symphony by the American composer Philip Glass. The work was commissioned by the Orchestre Français des Jeunes and premiered August 9, 2012, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Orchestre Français des Jeunes at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, France.[1] The piece had its United Kingdom premiere July 31, 2013 at The Proms in Royal Albert Hall.

For those just discovering this nineteen-year-old American violinist, the term "revelation" aptly applies. For his début in the recording studio he has chosen two seemingly opposed concertos: Mendelssohn's famous violin concerto and the magic concerto composed by his compatriot, John Adams (b. 1947). "Implacably melodic", says Adams of his work - a point the two pieces prove to have in common in this magnificent performance by Kristjan Järvi and his Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra.

John Adams - Doctor Atomic Symphony - Guide to Strange Sites (SLSO - Robertson)
[Nonesuch 468220-2]
EAC 099pb4 Rip | FLAC+CUE, LOGs | 1 CD | 47:03 min
218 MB | 300 dpi PDF Complete Scans
Genre: 20th Century - Contemporary | Label: Nonesuch

A great vote of thanks is due Nonesuch for making these performances available. This represents the SLSO’s first appearance on this label since the short-lived Saint Louis Symphony Commissions series in the mid 1980s. The engineering of this disc is first-rate, catching the warm ambience of Powell Symphony Hall along with plenty of detail. The orchestra surmounts the considerable technical challenges of the works with élan, matching the excellent Netherlands Philharmonic in the DVD recording of the opera for expressiveness and surpassing them in precision. The only complaint is the short playing time. That criticism aside, this release is warmly recommended.

The world premiere of Nixon in China in October 1987 inaugurated a fresh era in American opera. The piece boldly carved out new territory by treating recent American history as suitably mythic operatic material. Skeptics thought this could result only in a trendily pop art-style ridicule of well-known political icons, but it turned out to be as valid a choice as Wagner’s dysfunctional gods or the tormented passions of verismo lovers. Years after the opera’s initial run at the Houston Grand Opera, Nixon is now recognized as a 20th-century masterpiece… —Thomas May