Biography of john adams the composer wagner

This American classical composer writes rock songs as well as concertos and has a home studio complete with contemporary synths and a computer‑based sequencer. Paul Tingen talks to him about the best of both worlds.

There was a time when classical music and rock music were continents separated by a virtually uncrossable ocean of prejudice, sectarianism, incomprehension, and musical languages so different that even attempts at communication between the two were doomed to fail. Many such attempts have been made over the years, from Deep Purple's ill‑fated Concerto for Group and Orchestra, and ELP and ELO's flirtations with classical themes and instruments, to more recent efforts, such as Elvis Costello's collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet, and the Kronos Quartet covers of Jimi Hendrix tunes.

Although more recent crossovers between classical and popular musics are far superior to the awkward efforts of the '60s and '70s, the two genres are never completely comfortab

•

John Adams

Biography

Composer, conductor, and creative thinker — John Adams occupies a unique position in the world of American music. His works, both operatic and symphonic, stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Over the past 30 years, Adams' music has played a decisive role in turning the tide of contemporary musical aesthetics away from academic modernism and toward a more expansive, expressive language, entirely characteristic of his New World surroundings.

Born and raised in New England, Adams learned the clarinet from his father and played in marching bands and community orchestras during his formative years. He began composing at age ten and heard his first orchestral pieces performed while still a teenager. The intellectual and artistic traditions of New England, including his studies at Harvard University and attendance at Boston Symphony Orchestr

•

Podcasts

John Adams

Creating American music that’s intense, sensual, and meaningful.

Music Credits: “Common Tones in Simple Time” and “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” composed by John Adams, from the cd The Chairman Dances, performed by the San Francisco Symphony. “Mr. Premier, Distinguished Guests” from Nixon in China, composed by John Adams, libretto by Alice Goodman, performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. “On the Transmigration of Souls,” composed by John Adams, from the cd, On the Transmigration of Souls, performed by the New York Philharmonic. Jo Reed: You’re listening to “Common Tones in Simple Time,” an early composition by John Adams. And this fryst vatten Art Works, the weekly podcast produced at the National Endowment for the Arts. I’m Josephine Reed. The musical output of John Adams is both prolific and varied; it ranges from compositions for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and chorus. In fact, he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for the chorus On the Transmi