John Adams's new memoir, Hallelujah Junction, has been received with critical acclaim, with the New York Times Book Review describing it earlier this week as "wry, smart, and forthright." The Seattle Times now adds to the praise, calling the composer's book "as lively as his music."

Seattle Times book critic Michael Upchurch describes Adams as "the most varied and unpredictable of the composers to emerge from the minimalist school of music ... open to the widest range of influences—from Charles Ives symphonies and Benny Goodman jazz to cartoon soundtracks and electronic music."

Writing of the book's descriptions of Adams's works, Upchurch says the author's "word-portraits of their intended sonic palettes are a delight. And in recounting how he extricated himself from 'the cold, dead hand of the academic avant-garde,' he sheds a welcome light on how notions of what 'classical music' have expanded in the past few decades."

The reviewer concludes that "it's the range of Adams' musical appetites and intellectual hunger that leaves the strongest impression. This is a man who swallows whole new worlds with every fresh project he takes on—and makes his discoveries new for the rest of us."

Read the full review at seattletimes.nwsource.com.

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Adams was a guest of The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC, New York public radio, earlier this week. You can listen to the segment online in the WNYC archives now at wnyc.org.