The John Adams Earbox - 10CDs

Accessible, mostly upbeat but with darker undertones, John Adams's music pulls no punches. His latest work is also his best, and this handsome collection gives it a revealing perspective

View record and artist details

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: John Adams, Charles Ives

Label: Nonesuch

Magazine Review Date: 1/2000

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 660

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 7559-79453-2

Tracks:

Composition	Artist Credit
Harmonium	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor San Francisco Symphony Chorus San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Shaker Loops	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
(The) Chairman Dances	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Grand Pianola Music	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor John Adams, Composer John Alley, Piano Judith Rees, Soprano London Sinfonietta Nicole Tibbels, Soprano Shelagh Sutherland, Piano Teresa Shaw, Mezzo soprano
Fearful symmetries	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor John Adams, Composer St Luke's Orchestra
Nixon in China, Movement: Beginning	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Soldiers of heaven hold the sky	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: The people are the heroes now	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Landing of the Spirit of '76	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Your flight was smooth, I hope?	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: News has a kind of mystery	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Ladies and gentlemen, Comrades and friends	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Mr Premier, distinguished guests	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Cheers	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: This is prophetic!	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Interlude	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Oh what a day, I thought I'd die!	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Whip her to death	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Let us examine what you did	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: When I woke up	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: I have no offspring	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: I can keep still	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: After that - The sweat had soaked my uniform	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: Peking watches the stars	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: You won at poker	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
Nixon in China, Movement: I am old and I cannot sleep	John Adams, Composer Carolann Page, Soprano Edo de Waart, Conductor James Maddalena, Baritone John Adams, Composer John Duykers, Tenor Mari Opatz, Mezzo soprano Marion Dry, Mezzo soprano Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Trudy Ellen Craney, Soprano
(The) Wound-dresser	John Adams, Composer Chris Gekker, Trumpet John Adams, Conductor John Adams, Composer Naoko Tanaka, Violin Sanford Sylvan, Baritone St Luke's Orchestra
Christian Zeal and Activity	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Thoreau	Charles Ives, Composer Charles Ives, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
Down East	Charles Ives, Composer Charles Ives, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
Cradle Song	Charles Ives, Composer Charles Ives, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
At the river	Charles Ives, Composer Charles Ives, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
Serenity	Charles Ives, Composer Charles Ives, Composer Dawn Upshaw, Soprano John Adams, Conductor St Luke's Orchestra
Eros Piano	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor Paul Crossley, Piano St Luke's Orchestra
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of the exiled Palestinians	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of the exiled Jews	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: It was just after 1:15	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: My Grandsun Didi, who was two	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Give these orders	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: So I said to my grandson	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: We are sorry for you	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Night Chorus	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of Hagar and the Angel	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: I've never been a violent man	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: You are always complaining of your suffering	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Aria of the Falling Body	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Day Chorus	John Adams, Composer Eugene Perry, Baritone James Maddalena, Baritone Janice Felty, Mezzo soprano John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Opera Chorus Lyon Opera Orchestra Richard Cooke, Conductor Sanford Sylvan, Baritone Sheila Nadler, Mezzo soprano Stephanie Friedman, Mezzo soprano Thomas Hammons, Baritone Thomas Young, Tenor
Tromba Lontana	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Short Ride in a Fast Machine	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Common Tones in Simple Time	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
El Dorado	John Adams, Composer Hallé Orchestra John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor
Harmonielehre	John Adams, Composer Edo de Waart, Conductor John Adams, Composer San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra	John Adams, Composer Gidon Kremer, Violin John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra
Chamber Symphony	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor London Sinfonietta
Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Disappointment Lake	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Synthesizer
Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Tundra	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Synthesizer John Adams, Composer
Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Hoodo Zephyr	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Synthesizer John Adams, Composer
Gnarly Buttons	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer John Adams, Conductor London Sinfonietta Michael Collins, Clarinet
I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky	John Adams, Composer (Anonymous) Ensemble Angela Teek, Singer Audra McDonald, Soprano Darius de Haas, Singer John Adams, Conductor John Adams, Composer Marin Mazzie, Singer Michael McElroy, Singer Richard Muenz, Tenor Welly Yang, Singer
Lollapalooza	John Adams, Composer Hallé Orchestra John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor
John's Book of Alleged Dances	John Adams, Composer John Adams, Composer Kronos Quartet
Slonimsky's Earbox	John Adams, Composer Hallé Orchestra John Adams, Composer Kent Nagano, Conductor

Author: Rob Cowan

Call me indulgent, but I just cannot resist retrospectives - and this one is better produced than most. Quite aside from its purely aesthetic appeal (imaginative artwork and stylish annotation), 'The John Adams Earbox' affords us the invaluable opportunity of weighing up the relative virtues of a major modern composer whose style is still developing. It's all there, at least everything released by Nonesuch, and the consistently fine sound quality (much of it produced by Wilhelm Hellweg) helps keep the listener's attentions centred firmly on the music.
'Minimalism' is far too limiting a term for Adams's work, but it's still fairly central to his creative formula, and anyone hooked on Reich, Glass or their various disciples will probably love what's on offer here. And yet pulsing sequences and foot-tapping potential are only part of the plot, certainly in the more recent works. The later Adams has a rather more complex story to tell.
Most of 'Earbox' is reissued material, and the chance to re-hear and reassess finds me, generally speaking, reacting most positively to those works that made the strongest impression on me first time around. I still love the post-Reichian musings of Hoodoo Zephyr (with its 'synthesizers, samplers and a large stockpile of sounds and timbres') whereas Gnarly Buttons, though intense and superbly played by clarinettist Michael Collins, strikes me as musically less memorable. The original CD coupling was John's Book of Alleged Dances, pungently played by the Kronos and still sounding mischievously provocative.
Three new items are more enjoyable than especially significant. Adams's San Francisco recording of Harmonium for chorus and orchestra occupies a richer sound-frame than its fine ECM predecessor (with the same orchestra) under the work's dedicatee, Edo de Waart. The choral contribution is marginally better on the new version, but de Waart keeps the tighter hold on line and rhythm. Parallel comparisons reveal that while Sir Simon Rattle's City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra version of the epic Harmonielehre is monumentally imposing, de Waart and his players (on the older Nonesuch recording reissued here) sound more comfortable with the rhythmic writing in Part 3. Kent Nagano directs the Halle Orchestra in the colourful orchestral essay Slonimsky's Earbox ('Stravinsky's Earbox' might have been a better title, given the opening's debt to Le Chant du Rossignol) and the loopy, brazenly aggressive Lollapalooza (written for Rattle). They also give us a fine reading of that slightly eerie study in textural opposites, El Dorado.
Extended extracts from the operas Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer incline me to view the librettos as more effective than the music. I'm sure that, in the theatre, the stage action helps; but when it comes to I was looking at the Ceiling and then I saw the Sky, the power of the words (dealing with inner-city tensions) is unpretentiously - and often emotively - mirrored in Adams's song-like treatment of them. Here, the balance between spoken narrative and its musical counterpart is better gauged. Although the idiom is vaguely 'pop' (or something close to it), the urgent passage from one song to the next - and the intensity of the subject matter - add up to something altogether more absorbing, more real than the operas (at least to these ears).
Fans on the lookout for A Short Ride in a Fast Machine will find it as the second of Two Fanfares for Orchestra. Again de Waart offers the best option (more natural than any rival), much as he does for The Chairman Dances, whereas the marvellous, madcap Chamber Symphony - still my favourite Adams piece - is marginally better served by Sian Edwards on RCA. Incidentally, I was delighted that DJF featured it as one of his favoured American symphonies (Awards issue).
Shaker Loops and Grand Pianola Music find Adams indulging the joyous abandon of his own work, though his poetic sensibilities are better exhibited in the tragi-lyrical The Wound-Dresser, perhaps the most moving work in the collection. Grand Pianola Music is exciting, no doubt about it, but heard for the tenth time (or so), that cheesy tune at the end starts to pall.
Which leaves the lyrical Christian Zeal and Activity, Eros Piano (with Paul Crossley), Adams's orchestration of Five Songs by Charles Ives (featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw), Common Tones in Simple Time and the Violin Concerto (with Gidon Kremer). For me, the last is by far the best, a restlessly spiralling masterpiece where mobility and harmonic interest form a powerful alliance. Nowadays, Adams tends to pack more meat on the musical bone, hold your interest more securely, and rely rather less on the seduction of rhythm. Works like Hoodoo Zephyr, Shaker Loops, Grand Pianola Music, even Harmonium, are great for motorway driving. You can watch dawn rise or dusk fall while bombing along a highway, and the music invariably fits the mood. It's nearly always on the move, and yet there's thought there too, and great skill. But for me the Violin Concerto and Chamber Symphony suggest that Adams's next retrospective will be more a 'mind-stretcher' than an 'earbox'.'

The John Adams Earbox - 10CDs

Harmonium

Shaker Loops

(The) Chairman Dances

Grand Pianola Music

Fearful symmetries

Nixon in China, Movement: Beginning

Nixon in China, Movement: Soldiers of heaven hold the sky

Nixon in China, Movement: The people are the heroes now

Nixon in China, Movement: Landing of the Spirit of '76

Nixon in China, Movement: Your flight was smooth, I hope?

Nixon in China, Movement: News has a kind of mystery

Nixon in China, Movement: Ladies and gentlemen, Comrades and friends

Nixon in China, Movement: Mr Premier, distinguished guests

Nixon in China, Movement: Cheers

Nixon in China, Movement: This is prophetic!

Nixon in China, Movement: Interlude

Nixon in China, Movement: Oh what a day, I thought I'd die!

Nixon in China, Movement: Whip her to death

Nixon in China, Movement: I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung

Nixon in China, Movement: Let us examine what you did

Nixon in China, Movement: When I woke up

Nixon in China, Movement: I have no offspring

Nixon in China, Movement: I can keep still

Nixon in China, Movement: After that - The sweat had soaked my uniform

Nixon in China, Movement: Peking watches the stars

Nixon in China, Movement: You won at poker

Nixon in China, Movement: I am old and I cannot sleep

(The) Wound-dresser

Christian Zeal and Activity

Thoreau

Down East

Cradle Song

At the river

Serenity

Eros Piano

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of the exiled Palestinians

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of the exiled Jews

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: It was just after 1:15

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: My Grandsun Didi, who was two

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Give these orders

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: So I said to my grandson

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: We are sorry for you

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Night Chorus

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Chorus of Hagar and the Angel

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: I've never been a violent man

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: You are always complaining of your suffering

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Aria of the Falling Body

(The) Death of Klinghoffer, Movement: Day Chorus

Tromba Lontana

Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Common Tones in Simple Time

El Dorado

Harmonielehre

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Chamber Symphony

Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Disappointment Lake

Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Tundra

Hoodoo Zephyr, Movement: Hoodo Zephyr

Gnarly Buttons

I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky

Lollapalooza

John's Book of Alleged Dances

Slonimsky's Earbox

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The John Adams Earbox - 10CDs

Accessible, mostly upbeat but with darker undertones, John Adams's music pulls no punches. His latest work is also his best, and this handsome collection gives it a revealing perspective

Record and Artist Details

The John Adams Earbox - 10CDs

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