“Minimalist,” “neo-romantic,” “political composer” and “trickster,” John Adams has been labeled many times. Ultimately the labels mean little because it’s impossible to pigeonhole Adams and his music. It’s best to say that he’s simply one of the most innovative composers of our day.
Adams has always gone his own way. At the start of his career, he tossed aside the avant-garde dictums of Arnold Schoenberg and Pierre Boulez that dominated postwar music. In his feisty introductory notes to his Harmonieliehre (a 1984 work), Adams wrote, “It was with Schoenberg that the ‘agony of modern music’ had been born, and it was no secret that the audience for classical music during the twentieth century was rapidly shrinking, in no small part because of the aural ugliness of so much of the new work being written.” Ouch.
In early works like Shaker Loops Adams loaded hypnotic rhythms and driving energy into his music and created a unique minimalist style that’s been much discussed, frequently imitated, but never equaled. Works from the 1980s, like Harmonium and Harmonieliehre (“Treatise on Harmony,” also the title of a book by Schoenberg) add another element to the minimalist mixture, rich orchestral textures in the best 19th century tradition.
Adams boldly uses parody and tosses pop cultural references into his music. His Chamber Symphony was written while he was studying a score of Schoenberg’s chamber symphony while his son was in an adjoining room watching cartoons – one of the work’s movements is even titled “Roadrunner.” His operas focus on the significant events of 20th century life: President Nixon’s historic visit to China (Nixon in China), the high-jacking of Achille Lauro and murder of an American citizen by Palestinian terrorists (The Death of Klinghoffer) and the creation of the Atomic bomb (Dr. Atomic).
Our featured recording is Dr. Atomic Symphony, an orchestral snapshot of music from Adams' opera Dr. Atomic. David Robertson conducts the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in Adams' vibrant score.
by Craig Zeichner
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