John Adams's Scheherazade.2 is out next Friday, September 30. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full as an NPR First Listen. "His cinematic music goes a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony," says NPR. Violinist Leila Josefowicz "gives a searing performance ... The fierceness and vulnerability [she] expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle. Hear it here.
John Adams's Scheherazade.2 is due out on Nonesuch Records next Friday, September 30. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full below as an NPR First Listen. Adams wrote this dramatic symphony for the violinist Leila Josefowicz, who performs it on the recording with the St. Louis Symphony led by Music Director David Robertson; Chester Englander is the cimbalom soloist.
The composer was inspired by an exhibition at Paris's Institute du Monde Arabe that included the history and evolution of the "Arabian Nights" folk tales and was particularly struck by the story of Scheherazade, which, he has written, led him to imagine a modern day Scheherazade, an "empowered, liberated spirit embodied in the multifaceted solo violin role."
"Over the course of four movements, no precise narrative is spelled out, yet Adams' descriptive titles and his cinematic music go a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra," writes NPR's Tom Huizenga in his review. The violinist, he writes, is a "courageous champion of new music, who gives a searing performance ... The fierceness and vulnerability Josefowicz expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Read the complete review at npr.org/music.
Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle's Joshua Kosman in his review of the album. "The orchestral writing ... is as detailed and colorful as anything Adams has written, and the solo part combines virtuosity and tenderness in equal measure. Yet what's most striking in this four-movement score is the way Adams both masters and subverts traditional ideas about musical form and tone-painting." Read that review at sfchronicle.com.
Reserve a copy of the album on iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album available on release day.
The NPR Music First Listen embed was replaced with a Spotify embed following the album's release.
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