John Adams's Minimalist Music nWAY2013-02-22 18:10:55

Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer John Adams (born 1947) has strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) and Shaker Loops (1978), a minimalist four-movement work for strings. His well-known operas include Nixon in China (1987), which recounts Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, and Doctor Atomic (2005), which covers Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the building of the first atomic bomb.

Shaker Loops (for string septet) (1978): A "modular" composition for three violins, one viola, two cellos, and one bass, with a conductor. It is divided into four distinct movements, each of which grows almost indiscernibly into the next. Adams worked with a group of Conservatory string players, at times composing as they rehearsed. The "period" – that is, the number of beats per repeated pattern – of each instrument is different, and this results in a constantly shifting texture of melody and rhythmic emphasis. This piece is a turning point in Adams's oeuvre, as it marks a return to pure instrumental writing and a re-engagement with tonality. Adams later arranged this piece for string orchestra.
 
Harmonium for Large Orchestra and Chorus (1980–81): The piece starts with quietly insistent repetitions of one note – D – and one syllable – "no". The successful Harmonium premiere was the first performance of his music by a major mainstream organization, and established Adams as a figure in America's musical landscape.
 
Grand Pianola Music (1982): Adams commented, "Dueling pianos, cooing sirens, Valhalla brass, thwacking bass drums, gospel triads, and a Niagara of cascading flat keys all learned to cohabit as I wrote the piece." It is one of his first major works to incorporate American vernacular music within a classical symphonic tradition. Adams's use of the repetitive patterns of minimalism within sweeping orchestral gestures is heard throughout the piece.

Harmonielehre (1984–85): Inspired by a dream of an oil tanker taking flight out of San Francisco Bay and also by Arnold Schoenberg's book, Harmonielehre (Theory of Harmony). This piece is also about harmony of the mind and was Adams's way of escaping writer's block.
 
The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) (1985): This is a by-product of Nixon in China, set in the three days of President Nixon's visit to Beijing in February 1972.
 
Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Fanfare for Great Woods) (1986): This piece is joyfully exuberant, brilliantly scored for a large orchestra. It begins with a marking of half-notes (woodblock, soon joined by the four trumpets) and eighths (clarinets and synthesizers); the (amplified) woodblock is fortissimo and the other instruments play forte. The work uses many elements of minimalist music.

John Adams: The Chairman Dances (1985), with images from the revolutionary Chinese ballet, The Red Detachment of Women. The ballet was used as inspiration for the third act dance scenes in Adams's opera, Nixon In China.

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Edo de Waart, Conductor

John Adams: Grand Pianola Music (1982)

CalArts Contemporary Music Ensemble
Stephen Mosko, Conductor

John Adams: Shaker Loops (1978, rev 1983)

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, Conductor

John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

John Adams: Harmonielehre (1985)

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Edo de Waart, Conductor 

John Adams: Harmonium (1980)

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Edo de Waart, Conductor

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