John Adams’s latest Nonesuch album pairs his Son of Chamber Symphony with his String Quartet. The album receives four stars from the Times of London, which calls it "polished and vibrant"; the Guardian, which says that “both works are given exactly the kind of high-octane performances that Adams's instrumental music demands"; and MusicOMH, which calls it “a fine pair of works to complete the next chapter in Adams’ considerable recorded legacy.” Adams's 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer is also receiving praise in its new production at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
John Adams’s latest Nonesuch album, released late last month, pairs his Son of Chamber Symphony, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by the composer, with his String Quartet, performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
The album receives four stars in the Times of London, which calls the album "polished and vibrant." The Guardian gives the album four stars as well. In Son of Chamber Symphony, the 2008 successor to Adams's 1992 Chamber Symphony, reviewer Andrew Clements notes that "the virtuoso lightness of the instrumental writing remains, and with its self-references to earlier works (Nixon in China and Harmonielehre) it is a real jeux d'esprit, genuinely approachable and wittily engaging." On the album, with that piece and the String Quartet, “both works are given exactly the kind of high-octane performances that Adams's instrumental music demands." Read the complete review at guardian.co.uk.
MusicOMH concurs, also giving the new album four stars. Reviewer Ben Hogwood says it is in the String Quartet, though, where Adams truly gets to "flex his muscles." Overall, Adams “keeps the listener under his spell” on the album, “a fine pair of works to complete the next chapter in Adams’ considerable recorded legacy.” Read more at musicomh.com.
To pick up a copy of Son of Chamber Symphony / String Quartet, head to the Nonesuch Store, where orders include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album at checkout.
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In addition to the success of his latest release, Adams is also receiving praise for his 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer, which has returned to the US stage—at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis—for the first time since its original production. Following Wednesday's Opening Night, performances continue this weekend and through next week.
"The final opera in OTSL's season," writes St. Louis Post Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller, "is also its artistic high point ... The production is moving, never mawkish." Read the complete performance review at stltoday.com.
NPR's All Things Considered talks with the composer about why so much time has lapsed between productions of the controversial piece, which examines the hijacking of the Achille Lauro. You can listen to the piece at npr.org.
For more information and tickets, visit opera-stl.org.
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