John Adams's City Noir was given its world premiere last night in the Opening Night performance of the Los Angeles Philharmonic season and the Inaugural Gala of new music director Gustavo Dudamel. It "was an exceptional and exciting concert by any standard," says the New York Times's Anthony Tommasini. "Moment to moment the music [of City Noir] is riveting." The Los Angeles Times's Mark Swed says: "I can’t imagine another orchestra that could sell such a piece so effectively on the first performance."
John Adams's City Noir was given its world premiere last night, paired with Mahler's First Symphony, in the Opening Night performance of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2009-10 season and the Inaugural Gala of the orchestra's new music director, Gustavo Dudamel (pictured at left in a file photo). As auspicious an occasion as it was, last night's concert at Walt Disney Hall, raves New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini, "was an exceptional and exciting concert by any standard."
Tommasini sees Dudamel's inclusion of a new work by Adams, whom the conductor named the Philharmonic's creative chair, in his inaugural concert as "a telling artistic statement" from the new music director, describing the piece as "a bustling, complex" work. The composer "brilliantly" evokes such musical inspirations as Gershwin and Bernstein, "in this searching, experimental" piece, reads the review. "Adams has become a master at piling up materials in thick yet lucid layers. Moment to moment the music is riveting."
Read the complete concert review at nytimes.com.
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Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed sees last night's concert as an inauguration of both a new music director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its "embrace of a new generation and cultural point of view, which is no small thing."
Swed suggests that City Noir is "perhaps Adams’ most demanding symphonic work," but that, even though it was Dudamel's inaugural crack at conducting any piece by Adams, he "led everything with confidence and urgency." What's more, the orchestra members are no strangers to performing the composer's work, leading Swed to conclude: "I can’t imagine another orchestra that could sell such a piece so effectively on the first performance."
Read the concert review at latimes.com.
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The Wall Street Journal's David Mermelstein says, "Gustavo Dudamel went from boy wonder to world-class conductor in little more than two hours Thursday night." Dudamel "gleefully coaxed vibrant colors and rich textures from his new band, reveling in Mr. Adams's complicated, Ives-like harmonies." Read more at online.wsj.com.
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The Los Angles Philharmonic's Opening Night concert featuring John Adams's City Noir will be broadcast in HD on PBS from WNET/Thirteen's Great Performances beginning October 21, at 8 PM EST. For more information and local listings, visit pbs.org.
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To learn more about City Noir and listen to a clip from the piece, visit John Adams's website, earbox.com.
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