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Journal Archives for John Adams

  • John Adams: "Nixon in China" [2011 cover]
    Thursday, January 6, 2011
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    John Adams's "Nixon in China" Original Cast Album Reissue to Coincide with Metropolitan Opera Premiere

    John Adams's 1987 opera Nixon in China receives its Met premiere on February 2, with the composer on the podium and Peter Sellars directing. To coincide with this momentous occasion, Nonesuch will reissue the Grammy-winning original cast recording in a newly redesigned and specially-priced three-CD set with new notes by Adams and Sellars. Among the events marking the production are a conversation with Sellars at the Asia Society; a preview with Adams, Sellars, and cast members hosted by WQXR; and a conversation at the Met with the creators. The February 12 performance of Nixon in China will be broadcast live in movie theaters around the world.

  • John Adams 2009 color w/scores
    Friday, December 10, 2010
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    John Adams Concludes San Francisco Symphony Residency of "Extraordinary," "Epic" Performances (San Jose Mercury News)

    John Adams concludes his residency with the San Francisco Symphony with performances of his chamber music by members of the orchestra and the St. Lawrence String Quartet on Sunday. Recent SFS performances of Adams's El Niño lead the San Francisco Chronicle to call it "one of Adams's greatest achievements" and the San Jose Mercury News to call it "extraordinary ... one of Adams's marvels." The Chronicle said of SFS performances of Harmonielehre that "this brilliant and dynamic opus emerged with all its force intact." The Mercury News called it "epic ... one of those capital-E events that music lovers are constantly craving."

  • John Adams, "El Niño" [cover]
    Thursday, December 2, 2010
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    John Adams Launches San Francisco Symphony Residency with "El Niño," Featuring Dawn Upshaw

    Just in time for the holidays, John Adams will conduct the San Francisco Symphony in three performances of his Nativity oratorio, El Niño, at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall, starting tonight, launching Adams's two-week residency there. Dawn Upshaw will reprise the role she originated and performed on the Nonesuch recording, tonight and Saturday. Jessica Rivera, who starred in Adams's A Flowering Tree, will perform the soprano role on Friday. Michelle DeYoung and Jonathan Lemalu will appear in all three performances.

  • John Adams, "El Niño" [cover]
    Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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    Dawn Upshaw, John Adams Reunite for "El Niño," As Upshaw Follows One Acclaimed Peter Sellars Collaboration with Another

    Dawn Upshaw joined violinist Geoff Nutall for the European premiere of Kurtág's Kafka Fragments at the Barbican in London last week, directed by Peter Sellars. The Guardian gave it four stars, citing "Upshaw's emotional honesty and gripping presentation of music that tests a soprano's technique." She joins another Sellars collaborator, John Adams, in performances of Adams's El Niño with the San Francisco Symphony, led by the composer, in early December.

  • John Adams 2009 color w/scores
    Tuesday, November 9, 2010
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    John Adams Piece to Open LA Philharmonic Concert Broadcast Live in Theaters January 9

    John Adams's Slonimsky's Earbox will open the LA Philharmonic's January 9 concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It's the first of three concerts that will be broadcast live to movie theaters across North America as part of LA Phil LIVE. Also on the program are works by Bernstein and Beethoven. In a video posted here, LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel calls it "a program with a lot of spirit and a lot of energy and a lot of joy."

  • John Adams: "I Am Love" Soundtrack [cover]
    Friday, July 16, 2010
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    Huffington Post: John Adams's Music a Perfect Fit for "I Am Love"

    The new film I Am Love, featuring the music of John Adams, has now opened in movie theaters across the US, with still more to be added in the coming weeks. The Huffington Post says that wonderful as it is, what "was truly powerful was the music used in the film." The Arts Desk calls the soundtrack album "an excellent single CD introduction to one of our greatest modern composers," complete with "impulsive, inventive and melodically rich post-systems gems."

  • John Adams: "I Am Love" Soundtrack [cover]
    Friday, July 9, 2010
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    NPR: John Adams Adds "Richly Textured" Soundtrack to "I Am Love"

    The film I Am Love features the music of John Adams, which plays an important role in the "sumptuous, operatic, and swooning" film, says NPR's Fresh Air. Director Luca Guadagnino "suffuses everything with beauty, be it Yorick Le Saux's fluid cinematography, the richly textured music by John Adams or the outfits especially designed for Swinton by Jil Sander and Fendi." Variety features an article about the director's love of Adams's music. The Epoch Times praises the soundtrack as a "collection of some powerful music by an important voice in American music."

  • John Adams: "Ceiling/Sky" [cover]
    Friday, July 2, 2010
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    John Adams's "Ceiling/Sky" Opens at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East

    The Barbican joins the Theatre Royal Stratford East in presenting a two-week run of performances of John Adams's 1995 music theatre piece I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at the Theatre Royal, opening tonight. The BBC previews the production, saying: "John Adams is arguably America's unofficial national composer." The London Philharmonic performs his Doctor Atomic Symphony at London's Royal Festival Hall.

  • John Adams: "I Am Love" Soundtrack [cover]
    Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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    BBC: John Adams's "I Am Love" Score "One of Those Rare Soundtracks That Merits, Rewards Repeated Listening"

    John Adams's music serves as soundtrack for the new film I Am Love. The BBC calls the album "one of those rare soundtracks that merits—and rewards—repeated listening." The Philadelphia Daily News gives the album an A-, citing "John Adams's brilliant score." The San Jose Mercury News, says the "music considerably adds to the grandness and sweep" of the film; the Chicago Tribune includes it among the elements making I Am Love "a film whose texture and atmosphere and fragrances stay with you."

  • John Adams: "I Am Love" Soundtrack [cover]
    Monday, June 21, 2010
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    Washington Post Talks with John Adams, "One of This Country's Most Distinguished, Talented Artists," About "I Am Love," More

    I Am Love, the new film from director Luca Guadagnino, starring Tilda Swinton and featuring the music of John Adams, has opened in New York and Los Angeles. Guadagnino tells the Los Angeles Times: "His music was so powerful and many scenes were written with it in mind." Adams spoke with the Washington Post, which calls the composer "one this country's most distinguished and most talented artists," his music "beautifully crafted, endlessly engaging and has won over audiences throughout the world."

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