John Adams - Composer - ProfilesArchive

About Me

This official John Adams myspace page is operated by colleagues at John Adams' music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, with input and collaboration from the composer himself. Special thanks to Nonesuch for granting us permission to stream these tracks. Enjoy!"Whenever serious art loses track of its roots in the vernacular, then it begins to atrophy." -John AdamsJohn Adams has harnessed the rhythmic energy of Minimalism to the harmonies and orchestral colours of late-Romanticism * Brought contemporary history to the opera house with his post-modern music-theatre works Nixon in China (1987) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1991) * Has addressed urgent social issues with passion and empathy, both in his operas and in such works as I Was Looking at the Ceiling and then I Saw the Sky, El Dorado and The Wound-Dresser * His works are much favoured by choreographers, with multiple ballet versions of Fearful Symmetries * Winner of the 1995 Grawemeyer Award for his Violin Concerto * Series of recordings on the Nonesuch label * A recent survey shows him to be the most frequently performed living American composer of orchestral music.Works by John Adams include: Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) for orchestra Violin Concerto (1993) El NiÃ±o (1999-2000) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, three counter-tenors, chorus, optional childrens' chorus and orchestraLooking ahead: A Flowering Tree is premiered at the Wiener Festwochen as part of the Mozart year's New Crowned Hope festival (14 Nov); further performances of Doctor Atomic, are scheduled by Netherlands Opera (June 2007) and English National Opera (Spring 2008); future Nonesuch releases include The Dharma at Big Sur, My Father Knew Charles Ives and Guide to Strange Places (Summer 2006)

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/8/2006
Band Website: earbox.com
Influences: "JS Bach, Duke Ellington, Melville, Mozart (particularly concertos and chamber music), John Philip Sousa, Charles Ives, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Whitman, Kayan Kalhor (Persian kamchei virtuoso), Cervantes (en espaÃ±ol), Copland, Ali Akbar Khan, Benny Goodman, Conlon Nancarrow, Mahler, Shakespeare (particularly Lear), Thomas Mann, Beethoven (particularly piano music), Stockhausen tape music, Schoenberg (strange but true), Beatles, Qawwali music (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), Louis Armstrong, Paul Butterfield, Debussy/Ravel, Frank Gehry, Wagner (but not Parsifal), Allen Ginsberg, Glass/Reich/Riley.""Recently, I have been listening to Alarm Will Sound arrangements of Aphex Twin, old LP recordings of the Benny Goodman Orchestra from the late 1930's, and the new edit of "The Dharma at Big Sur", my concerto for electric violin, played by the amazing Tracy Silverman. I recently conducted scenes from Glass's Akhnaten with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and found that I liked it." - JA
Sounds Like: Find out for yourself!

Grab some interesting friends and click HERE to find out where you can check out John Adams' music LIVE!
Record Label: Nonesuch
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Boosey & Hawkes, Emerging Composers

Hi Everybody! Dan from Boosey & Hawkes here. I want to let you know about the launch of a new sponsorship program, Boosey & Hawkes Emerging Composers. In order to foster and develop the next ...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:40:00 PST

"Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic" opening this weekend in NYC and LA!

Hi Everybody, The film Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic will be opening this weekend in NYC and LA! This behind-the-scenes documentary follows composer John Adams and director Peter ...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Tue, 27 May 2008 09:40:00 PST

Boosey & Hawkes Composer Showcase at SXSW!

Boosey & Hawkes is proud to present its first ever showcase at SXSW, featuring music by John Adams. The showcase entitled "Reich, Rags, & Road Movies: Music by Steve Reich & Frie...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:47:00 PST

Adams Visits Chicago -- on the radio and in the opera house

Hi everyone - You can click HERE tomorrow, Monday (12/10), from 10am - 12 pm (Central) to hear John Adams spinning tunes as guest DJ on Chicago's WFMT. Adams will be in Chicago all this week...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:51:00 PST

New radio station for curious ears

Greetings from Boosey & Hawkes --Are your ears bored?We're creating a playground for curious listeners to explore all that "classical" (and contemporary) music has to offer, with staff-selected ra...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:30:00 PST

Adding problem fixed!

Dear Friends: We have fixed the problems people have been having with friend additions. Please try again and thanks for your patience! Regards, David Boosey & Hawkes...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Wed, 16 May 2007 09:49:00 PST

John Adams on NewMusicBox.org

Hi there, To eavesdrop on an interesting conversation between composer/music journalist Frank Oteri of NewMusicBox.org and John Adams, follow this link HERE. Good stuff.SarahBoosey & Hawkes...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Thu, 15 Feb 2007 01:45:00 PST

John Adams' to conduct his new opera in San Francisco!

Renowned American composer John Adams will conduct the U.S. premiere of his new two-act opera, A Flowering Tree, at the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) March 1-3. The SF Symphony co-commission, which Ada...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:55:00 PST

Just Released: "The John Adams Reader"

____________________________________________________________ _ Just released: "The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer" edited by Thomas May. Publish...
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Mon, 10 Jul 2006 07:16:00 PST

Add John Adams' music to your profile!

We've updated the settings so that you can add John Adams' tracks to your myspace page and share these great sounds with friends! All best, Boosey & HawkesNonesuch
Posted by John Adams - Composer on Mon, 12 Jun 2006 02:30:00 PST