John Adams's Doctor Atomic Symphony "comes across as a tight, visceral ride that you won't want to miss," says New Music Box of the Nonesuch recording, and "the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Robertson light it on fire ... [I]t's as charmed a production as you could wish for." A new exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art features a sculpture inspired by the opera Doctor Atomic.
In Doctor Atomic Symphony, John Adams offers an instrumental distillation of his 2005 opera Doctor Atomic, about the creation of the first atomic bomb. But you don't have to have seen the opera to enjoy the piece, says New Music Box. On the recently released Nonesuch recording, it "comes across as a tight, visceral ride that you won't want to miss," writes reviewer Molly Sheridan, and "the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Robertson light it on fire."
Sheridan explains:
Adams' exploration of nuclear anxiety is vividly captured in this condensed three-movement instrumental version. The chills start running the moment the percussion, horns, and strings begin their pulsing wails. Later, a simple, reflective oboe line inspires heartsickness without a word needed.
Even without the texts and visual elements of the opera, the music proves to be "so evocative and inspiring that it allows listeners to conjure impressions and reactions that are as complex and completely engrossing as if it were being played out in full color before their eyes," says Sheridan.
On the album, the piece is paired with Adams's 2001 orchestral piece Guide to Strange Places, another evocative work. "Adams scores a layered, nuanced, and solidly crafted journey in sound and invites his listeners to fly alongside him as fellow armchair travelers," reads the review.
With both pieces in one package, Sherdian concludes, "it's as charmed a production as you could wish for." Read the review at newmusicbox.org.
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On a related note, the Dallas Museum of Art has just launched a special exhibit titled Performance/Art, which showcases the work of six artists who have been inspired in some way by theater and opera. Included among them is David Altmejd’s sculpture The Eye, which was created in conjunction with last season's Metropolitan Opera production of the opera Doctor Atomic. The Dallas Morning News describes it as "a big explosion of mirrored shards, casting complex reflections on gallery walls." For more on the exhibit, which runs through March of next year, visit dallasmuseumofart.org.
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Meanwhile, reviews continue to come for last Thursday's world premiere of Adams's City Noir, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its new music director, Gustavo Dudamel.
The Financial Times describes it as a "glittering 35-minute essay," in which "Adams pays homage to the Hollywood fantasies conjured by old movies and their scores." Reviewer Allan Ulrich reminds readers that the composer views this latest work as the third in a California triptych, following The Dharma at Big Sur (2003) and El Dorado (1991), and dubs its "the most outrageously entertaining of the lot." Read more at ft.com.
The San Francisco Chronicle describes the piece as "the evening's most interesting component." Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman writes: "It's all enchantingly done, and Dudamel, beating time with almost robotic crispness, led a vivid performance." Read the review at sfgate.com.
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