John Adams Conducts American Elegies (1991)

John Adams conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Recorded at Manhattan Center Studios, New York City, August, 1989.

I bought this CD for two reasons: 1) I was a John Adams fan back in '91; gravitating towards whatever he was releasing, and 2) I had recently heard Ives' The Unanswered Question used to great effect as the soundtrack to a JFK assassination documentary (JFK: A Time Remembered, 1988).

We're treated to six works from the 20th century on this disc:

• Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question (1908)
• Ives: Five Songs (1922)
• Ingram Marshall: Fog Tropes (1981)
• Morton Feldman: Madame Press Died Last Week At Ninety (1970)
• Adams: Eros Piano (1989)
• David Diamond: Elegy In Memory Of Maurice Ravel (1937)

Not surprisingly, my favorite piece is The Unanswered Question (that's why I bought the CD, after all). Marshall's Fog Tropes is a haunting piece for brass sextet and tape. I wish I had heard it when I was in college because I would have tried to scrape together a reading or performance of it. These are some gorgeous pieces, but the elegiac nature of the works keeps me from listening to this CD much.

On a side note, this is one of my favorite CD covers simply because the image by photographer William Eggleston perfectly captures the mood of the music.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chamber Symphony/Grand Pianola Music (1994)
Fearful Symmetries/The Wound Dresser (1989)
The Chairman Dances (1987)
Harmonielehre (1985)

John Adams - The Chairman Dances (1987)

Edo De Waart conducting the San Francisco Symphony. Recorded at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, November, 1986.

An outstanding compilation of minimalist orchestral music, five works are included on this disc:

• The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) (1985)
• Christian Zeal and Activity (1973)
• Tromba lontana (1985)
• Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)
• Common Tones in Simple Time (1979)

As a whole, the disc is quite enjoyable, but my favorite pieces are Short Ride In A Fast Machine and Christian Zeal And Activity. The orchestra sounds a little restrained, but otherwise fine. The warmth of the strings help bring out the harmonic beauty of the pieces, particularly Common Tones and Christian Zeal. I don't listen to much contemporary orchestral music, but when I do, I often reach for this disc (if you can still consider this music to be contemporary).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  One of the first CDs I owned, the works here turned me into a huge fan of Adams' early work.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chamber Symphony/Grand Pianola Music (1994)
Fearful Symmetries/The Wound Dresser (1989)
Harmonielehre (1985)

John Adams - Harmonielehre (1985)

Edo De Waart conducting the San Francisco Symphony. Recorded at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, March 23, 1985.

To save space, I'll link to information about this piece from Wikipedia and Adam's own website, earbox.com. Soundclips are available at earbox.com and on the Nonesuch Records website.

I enjoy this orchestral work, particularly the first and third movements. One of the best serious orchestral pieces of the 1980's for sure. There's some great writing for horn players and percussionists in there. The orchestra sounds great and, although these classical recordings are often rush jobs, seems to cleanly capture the spirit of the composition. Adams himself notes that

despite the daunting length and rhythmic complexity of the piece, both conductor and orchestra made a totally convincing representation of it, and the recording can testify to the rare instances when a composer, a conductor, and an orchestra create an inexplicable bond among each other.

Who am I to argue with that?

Stereo Review, March 1986

For you movie buffs, the third movement of this piece (along with other Adams works) was used in the 2009 Italian film I Am Love.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chamber Symphony/Grand Pianola Music (1994)
Fearful Symmetries/The Wound Dresser (1989)

John Adams - Fearful Symmetries/The Wound Dresser (1989)

John Adams conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

Music from the late '80s by minimalist composer John Adams. Adams has earned two degrees from Harvard University (BA 1971, MA 1972) and was among the first students to be allowed to submit a musical composition for a Harvard undergraduate thesis. In other words, he knows what he's doing.

Tracks:
The Wound-Dresser (1989): An interesting piece for orchestra and baritone (sung beautifully here by Sanford Sylvan). The text is a Walt Whitman poem describing the suffering in the Civil War hospitals and the poet’s suffering, faithfulness to duty, and developing compassion as he tended to soldiers’ physical wounds and gave comfort. The musical setting fits the poem perfectly (I especially like how Adams uses piccolo trumpet here) and the orchestra plays well, but I'm not a huge fan of classical vocal pieces. Plus, the morbid nature of the piece makes me uncomfortable throughout. Needless to say, I never listen to this piece. When this piece was written, AIDS was becoming increasingly present in our culture. I wonder if there's a parallel metaphor being suggested here. That would certainly take the piece to another level.

Fearful Symmetries (1988): This is a fun, energetic piece along the lines of the composer's 1986 work, Short Ride In A Fast Machine. An in-your-face instrumentation includes a saxophone quartet, synthesizer, and lots of percussion. Even though it may go on a bit long, I enjoy listening to this and it is a curious pairing with the first track. Here's what the composer says about the piece: Fearful Symmetries

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I don't even remember buying this CD.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Chamber Symphony/Grand Pianola Music (1994)

John Adams - Chamber Symphony/Grand Pianola Music (1994)

John Adams conducting the London Sinfonietta.

After discovering his music in the late '80s, I became a huge Adams fan, preferring his brand of minimalism to that of Glass or Reich. However, I find myself increasingly drawn to his earlier compositions (of the late '70s through the '80s) rather than his more recent stuff.

Tracks:
Chamber Symphony (1992): The composer states that the influences for this work were Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony and cartoon music from the 1950s (Carl Stalling, I'm guessing). The opening movement, titled Mongrel Airs, has some good moments, but is a little too frantic for my tastes. The second movement, Aria with Walking Bass is at its best when it is just trombone and bass, without the shrill woodwinds. The final movement, Roadrunner, is by far the best. Effectively incorporating a synth, the movement is rhythmically aggressive without being in your face. Overall, a nice work, but not one of my favorites.

Grand Pianola Music (1982): In my opinion, the stronger work. Delicate and shimmering. My only beef is the use of 3 wordless female singers (called "Sirens") and the fact that the woodwinds are all scored too high. Flutes in a consistent upper-register just aren't a pretty sound and distract from the harmonic beauty of the work. Love the piano parts. The final movement proves that minimalist music can be based on the tonic-dominant relationship instead of progressions based on thirds. Sounds like it would be a fun piece to play.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but it occurs to me that I've never heard any of Adams' orchestral or chamber work performed live. I should remedy that soon.