The Chairman Dances

Submitted by nonesuch on
genre
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Named one of the 50 essential classical albums by NPR’s Performance Today, The Chairman Dances features the title piece, which anticipates Adams’s landmark Nixon in China—in the composer’s words, “a kind of warm-up for embarking on the creation of the full opera”—as well as Christian Zeal and Activity, Two Fanfares for Orchestra, and Common Tones in Simple Time.

Description

Named one of the 50 essential classical albums by NPR’s Performance Today, The Chairman Dances features the title piece, which anticipates Adams’s landmark Nixon in China—in the composer’s words, “a kind of warm-up for embarking on the creation of the full opera”—as well as Christian Zeal and Activity, Two Fanfares for Orchestra, and Common Tones in Simple Time.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Recorded November 1986 at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
Recording Engineer: John Newton
Assistant Engineer: Lolly Lewis
Digital Editing: E. Amelia Rogers
Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig

Art direction and design: Carin Goldberg
Cover photograph by Joel Meyerowitz

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79144

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
2
ns_album_id
13
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
John Adams
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
San Francisco Symphony
Edo de Waart, conductor

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597914429BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597914467
  • 79144

News & Reviews

  • “In many ways, John Adams is the quintessential California composer,” Nadia Sirota writes in the introduction to Adams’ audio interview with the California Festival, a statewide initiative showcasing contemporary classical music, including live performances at venues across the state over the past three weeks. Adams, a resident of Northern California since moving there from New England in 1971, talks about his early days in the area and the inspiration behind some of his most influential early works, like Christian Zeal and Activity, Phrygian Gates, Shaker Loops, and Harmonielehre. You can hear what he has to say here.

  • Composer John Adams talks about his acclaimed opera Doctor Atomic and the aria “Batter My Heart” in a new video from Boosey & Hawkes. The opera, with a libretto by Peter Sellars drawn from original sources—including, for this aria, the John Donne sonnet—tells the story of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first atomic bomb explosion in New Mexico in July 1945. The video features scenes from the Dutch National Opera production starring Gerald Finley, who originated the role of Oppenheimer in 2005 and can be heard on the Nonesuch first recording of Doctor Atomic, with the composer leading the BBC Singers and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Julia Bullock as Kitty Oppenheimer. You can hear “Batter My Heart” from the recording here as well.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    Named one of the 50 essential classical albums by NPR’s Performance Today, The Chairman Dances features the title piece, which anticipates Adams’s landmark Nixon in China—in the composer’s words, “a kind of warm-up for embarking on the creation of the full opera”—as well as Christian Zeal and Activity, Two Fanfares for Orchestra, and Common Tones in Simple Time.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    San Francisco Symphony
    Edo de Waart, conductor

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Recorded November 1986 at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
    Recording Engineer: John Newton
    Assistant Engineer: Lolly Lewis
    Digital Editing: E. Amelia Rogers
    Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig

    Art direction and design: Carin Goldberg
    Cover photograph by Joel Meyerowitz

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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